VOA慢速英语2013--AS IT IS - The Peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians

 

AS IT IS - The Peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians

Hello, again, and welcome. I’m Jim Tedder¹ in Washington. Today, we take a closer look at a story that is almost always in the news. Why is it that the Israelis and the Palestinians never seem to be able to solve their problems at the peace table? 

Some American experts provide some ideas. 

We will also hear from an international organization that is being kept busy these days looking for pirates. 

But first, some good news. There has been a big improvement in the humanitarian² situation in Somalia. The United Nations says better aid has been getting into the country, militants³ have been defeated, and much needed rain has finally arrived. 

There are about one million fewer Somalis listed as being in crisis. That is half the total number of people who were in crisis six months ago. In 2011, famine – widespread lack of food – was declared in several parts of Somalia. Many people died and many others walked for weeks to reach areas with food and water. 

Luca Alinovi directs the operations of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization – the FAO –in Somalia. Mr. Alinovi said FAO worked against the famine by providing money. 

“During the famine and the season after, we have been substantially intervening with cash-based intervention⁴. We have been supporting the people to stay where they were.” 

Mr. Alinova said FAO was especially strong in supporting the cash-for-work program. The program aided people so they could produce during a difficult season and breed animals. He said earlier interventions⁵ were based more on simply providing food, shelter and other needs. 

At a time when climate change has made yearly rainfall either hard to predict or scarce, 2012 had good rainfall, he said. And two major rivers that cross Somalia are good for irrigation – providing water – to the land. 

Another major improvement affecting the humanitarian situation has been success in fighting al Shabab militants. Forces from the African Union known as AMISOM have driven the group out of many areas. But Mr. Alinovi says insecurity is still a problem. 

“It’s still quite unstable⁶ and the military operation is still ongoing⁷ very much, particularly in the agricultural area, in the rural area, which obviously creates a climate of uncertainty⁸.” 

The FAO official said most of the rural area remains⁹ under the control of al Shabab. 

Peace negotiations¹⁰ between the Israelis and the Palestinians have not happened for more than two years. The disputed issues include who will govern Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees, and Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Steve Ember has more, and some well-known experts also have a say. 

Peace talks stopped in September twenty ten when Israel restarted settlement building in the West Bank. Palestinians say they will not negotiate until Israel stops building. Israel says it will not stop and Israeli officials are calling for talks to begin again without conditions. Experts say one problem for the peace process is that Palestinian leadership is divided between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is run by the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas. The elected leaders in the Gaza Strip are from Hamas. Israel and the American State Department consider Hamas a terrorist organization. 

Former National Security Adviser¹¹ Brent Scowcroft served under Presidents Gerald Ford¹² and George Herbert Walker Bush. He says the Palestinians must show a united front. 

“If Hamas can’t be induced, if you will, to join with Fatah, and really pursue the peace process, then a two-state solution might be given up on and that would be a disaster for everybody.” 

Last November, the U-N General Assembly gave Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a rare diplomatic victory. The U-N voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. Experts say the United States must be more involved in advancing the peace process. But William Cohen, a former defense¹³ secretary in the administration of President Bill Clinton, says the United States has a problem. 

“The United States, frankly¹⁴, has not had the perception of being an even-handed broker¹⁵, because of the United States’ strong commitment to Israel. And I think many of the Palestinians see this as not being fair-handed or even-handed.”

Despite that, Mister Cohen says the United States is the only country capable of being an “honest broker.” I’m Steve Ember. 

The days of the tall ships and white sails in the winds are gone, but piracy¹⁶ remains a problem in many places. The International Maritime¹⁷ Bureau says the Gulf¹⁸ of Guinea now has some of the most dangerous waters in the world. Jeri Watson tells us more. 

The IMB says there were 27 attacks in Nigerian waters last year. Only 10 attacks were reported the year before. That makes the area the second most dangerous waterway for shippers after the coast of Somalia. The Somali area had a big decrease in pirate attacks last year. Still almost 70 attacks took place in 2012. 

The director of the International Maritime Bureau, Pottengal Mukundan, says in attacks off Somalia, for example, people are held hostage for money. In West Africa, pirates take the cargos on the ships --the goods the ships are carrying. 

“The most serious cases are those where tankers²⁰, product tankers, are hijacked²¹ in order to steal a part of the cargo¹⁹.” 

This theft of cargo takes about seven to 10 days. Then the ship and its crew are freed. Mr. Mukundun says this does not mean that piracy victims in West Africa are always safe. Still, he says officials can stop such attacks without threatening the crew. And he says the pirate boats can be found from the air without too much difficulty. 

The International Maritime Bureau blames the increase in piracy on the lack of naval²² resources in the Gulf. But some local people in Nigeria say growing discontent in the oil-rich Niger Delta²³ causes piracy. 

Jackson Timiyan heads a national group for young people in the Niger Delta. He says young men become pirates because they are poor and have no jobs. 

But poverty may not be the only cause of piracy. During the past ten years, local armed groups have attacked foreign and government oil interests. They demanded a share of the wealth. The uprising ended with the government giving amnesty to tens of thousands of militants. I’m Jeri Watson. 

That’s all we have for today. We thank you for listening and hope you heard something that helped to explain our sometimes confusing world. 

We really would like to hear from you. Tell us what you want to hear about on our new show. We want to cover the issues and ideas that matter to you, in your world, as it is.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

6 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

16 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

17 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

18 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

19 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

20 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

21 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

22 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

23 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。