美洲—美洲峰会在一片抗议声中开幕

Summit of the Americas Opens amid Protests

美洲峰会在一片抗议声中开幕

 

The 34-nation Summit of the Americas began Friday in Mar¹ del Plata, Argentina, as demonstrators filled the streets of the town.

 

The summit began with pomp and ceremony as the hemispheric leaders filed into an ornate auditorium². Meanwhile, the scene in the nearby streets was turning from order to chaos³.

 

Before dawn, tens of thousands of demonstrators congregated⁴ for a day of protest. They marched peacefully down a main avenue, and filled the stands of a local football stadium for a rally in a wind-driven rain. But as the summit got underway, small groups began to move close to security barricades⁶.

 

They threw rocks and Molotov cocktails⁷, broke shop windows, and burned American flags. Police clad in full riot gear responded by firing canisters of tear gas - the popping noise and acrid⁸ smoke filling the air.

 

But despite the trouble in the streets, the summit continued, though somewhat behind schedule, with participants sticking to their agenda and focusing largely on economic matters. The primary emphasis is on job creation as a means to prosperity for all in the hemisphere, but there are differences on the best way forward.

 

President Bush has been pushing trade and economic reform, and has met on the sidelines of the summit to discuss these and other issues with leaders from Central America and Andean countries, as well as Argentine President Nestor Kirchner.

 

During a brief appearance with Mr. Kirchner, he referred to the massive security presence at the summit.

 

Nestor Kirchner: It's not easy to host all these countries. It's particularly not easy to host, perhaps, me.

 

This is the biggest security operation this resort city has ever seen - a situation that has become rather commonplace for any town chosen to host a multinational⁹ economic summit. But what was unusual about the gathering¹⁰ in Mar del Plata was one of the summit participants was playing a role in the demonstrations¹¹.

 

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez - a staunch critic of the Bush administration - addressed the stadium rally, lashing¹² out at the Iraq war and vowing¹³ that the U.S plan for a free trade zone of the Americas will fail.

 

President Bush was asked what he will do when he comes face to face with Hugo Chavez at the summit.

 

President Bush: Well, I will, of course, be polite. That's what the American people expect their President to do, is to be a polite person. And I will -- if I run across him, I will do just that.

 

The two never spoke¹⁴ during the opening session. President Bush sat in the first row of the dais. President Chavez sat a few rows back.

 

Paula Wolfson, VOA news with the President in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

 

注释：

pomp [pCmp] n. 壮丽，盛况

ornate [C:5neit] adj. 华丽的

auditorium [7C:di5tC:riEm] n. 会堂，礼堂

demonstrator [5demEnstreitE] n. 示威者

barricade⁵ [7bAri5keid] n. 路障

staunch [stC:n(t)F] adj. 坚定的

dais [5deiis] n. 讲台

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 congregated   

（使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The crowds congregated in the town square to hear the mayor speak. 人群聚集到市镇广场上来听市长讲话。
• People quickly congregated round the speaker. 人们迅速围拢在演说者的周围。

5 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

6 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

7 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

8 acrid   

adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• There is an acrid tone to your remarks.你说这些话的口气带有讥刺意味。
• The room was filled with acrid smoke.房里充满刺鼻的烟。

9 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

12 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

14 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。