VOA双语新闻 Rice Says UN Cannot Survive as Vital Force

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday the United Nations cannot survive as a vital force in international politics if it does not reform. She spoke¹ in support of the Bush administration's controversial nominee² for Ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, who has been a critic of the world body.

美国国务卿赖斯星期五表示，联合国如果不改革，便无法作为国际政治中一个至关重要的力量而继续存在。赖斯表态支持布什总统提名的约翰·博尔顿出任驻联合国大使。博尔顿一直对联合国持批评态度，布什提名他出任驻联合国大使后引起了争议。

Much of the opposition³ to Mr. Bolton stems from his blunt criticism of the United Nations, including a quip several years ago that the U.N. could get along fine without the top ten floors of its New York headquarters, which house its top officials.

很多人反对博尔顿出任驻联合国大使，是因为他过去发表了很多对联合国直言不讳的批评。几年前，他曾讽刺说，如果联合国纽约总部高层官员办公的最上面的10层楼都没有了的话，联合国可以照样运作。

But in a Washington address Friday to newspaper editors, Ms. Rice said despite the comments, Mr. Bolton believes the United Nations is important to U.S. foreign policy, to help mobilize against terrorism, trafficking in persons, weapons proliferation, and other global problems.

不过，赖斯星期五在华盛顿对报纸编辑演讲时说，尽管博尔顿讲过那些话，但是博尔顿还是相信，联合国在美国的外交政策方面、在帮助动员反恐、打击人口走私和武器扩散，以及解决其他全球问题方面，都是很重要的。

Ms. Rice said that with the United Nations facing scandals over the Iraq oil-for-food program and the conduct of peacekeepers in Africa, it in her words "cannot survive as a vital force in international politics if it does not reform its organizations, secretariat and management practices."

赖斯指出，鉴于联合国面临“石油换食品”计划和一些驻非洲的维和人员行为不检的丑闻，联合国“如果不改革它的各个组织、秘书处以及管理方式，就不能作为国际政治中至关重要的力量而继续存在”。

The Secretary said the kind of candidness⁴ shown by Mr. Bolton is needed, if the problems of the world body are to be addressed and dealt with successfully. "You know, it's fine to say all nice things about the United Nations. As important an institution as it is, one has to say there are some things that are not so great about the United Nations right now. And everybody recognizes that, and we've got to fix it. And so his commitment to me and to the President is that he is going to be a force for what is always needed in the United Nations: American leadership to update and reform and strengthen this great institution," she said.

赖斯说，如果要成功地处理和解决联合国这个全球机构存在的问题，博尔顿所表现出的那种坦诚是必要的。赖斯说：“对联合国大讲好话当然可以。虽然联合国是很重要的机构，但是现在要说的是，联合国有一些不是那么好的事情。每个人都意识到这一点，我们必须去解决这些问题。所以，他对我和对总统的承诺是，他将成为联合国内部永远需要的一种力量：更新、改革和加强美国在这个重大机构内的领导作用。”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is to vote next Tuesday on the Bolton nomination⁵. Its hearings on the issue were marked by charges that Mr. Bolton, as Under-Secretary of State for arms control, bullied⁶ intelligence analysts⁷ he perceived to be impeding⁸ his policy goals.

国会参议院外交关系委员会下星期二将就是否批准博尔顿的提名进行表决。在博尔顿的提名听证会上，有人指责说，他在担任负责军备控制事务的国务次卿时，粗暴地对待那些他认为阻碍了自己政策目标的情报分析人员。

The Foreign Relations Committee is split along partisan⁹ lines over Mr. Bolton, and groups of former government officials from past Republican and Democratic administrations have also lined up to either support or oppose the nomination.

参议院外交关系委员会以党派为界，共和党人支持博尔顿，民主党人则对他不满。另外，过去共和党和民主党政府的一些前政府官员也纷纷表态，有的支持他，有的反对他。

The petitioning began last month when some 60 former diplomats¹¹ and officials urged the committee to reject Mr. Bolton, who they said consistently opposed efforts to improve U.S. national security through arms control.

上个月，大约60名前外交官和官员敦促外交关系委员会驳回博尔顿的提名。他们说，博尔顿一贯反对通过军备控制来改善美国国家安全的努力。

Friday, the State Department distributed a group endorsement¹² of Mr. Bolton from nearly 150 former cabinet members and officials, including five former Secretaries of State from Republican administrations.

星期五，美国国务院公布，近150名前政府内阁成员和其他官员支持博尔顿的提名，其中包括前共和党政府的5位国务卿。

Absent from the list was Secretary of State Rice's immediate¹³ predecessor¹⁴, Colin Powell, under whom Mr. Bolton served in the arms control post.

支持名单上没有赖斯的前任鲍威尔。在博尔顿负责军备控制事务时，鲍威尔是他的顶头上司。

A vote against Mr. Bolton by just one Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which has ten Republicans and eight Democrats¹⁵, could block the nomination.

参议院外交关系委员会有10位共和党人和8位民主党人，只要有一位共和党人投反对票，就可以封杀博尔顿的提名。

However, the second-ranking Senate Democrat¹⁰, Dick Durbin, said Thursday he expects Mr. Bolton will ultimately be confirmed.

不过，参议院第二号民主党人、助理少数党领袖迪克·德宾星期四说，他预计博尔顿将最终将能过关。
 
 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 candidness   

n.耿直，自然，公正

参考例句：

• He's also well liked by his teammates as as the media, in particular for his candidness. 另外，由于率直的性格，他也受到了队友的喜爱和媒体的欢迎。 来自互联网

5 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

6 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》