2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Reorganizing US Foreign Aid Efforts

By David Gollust
Washington
19 January 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, continuing a bureaucratic¹ shake-up, is reorganizing the United States' foreign aid apparatus². She is creating what amounts to an overseas assistance official within the State Department.

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Condoleezza Rice, left, smiles after announcing Ambassador Randall Tobias has been named to coordinate³ foreign aid programs  
  

Secretary Rice is stopping short of folding the independent U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, into the State Department.

But she is giving the new head of that agency the concurrent⁴ title of Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, with an office in the State Department, in an effort to end what is seen as a lack of structure and accountability in America's nearly $20 billion a year overseas aid effort.

The secretary of state made the announcement in the second phase of a broad restructuring of the U.S. diplomatic corps⁵ that she has termed transformational diplomacy⁶, emphasizing democracy building and market economics.

She is naming former business executive and the outgoing chief of the Bush administration's global anti-HIV/AIDS program, Randall Tobias, to be the new foreign aid director, who will have the rank of deputy secretary of state.

Rice said the move will create a more unified⁷ and rational leadership structure over U.S. aid efforts which are spread across many agencies in addition to the State Department and USAID.

She said it will focus U.S. foreign assistance on promoting greater ownership and responsibility for recipient⁸ countries and their citizens.

"Our foreign assistance must help people get results. The resources we commit must empower developing countries to strengthen security, to consolidate⁹ democracy, to increase trade and investment, and to improve the lives of their people," she said. "America's foreign assistance must promote responsible sovereignty, not permanent dependency."

There had been reports that the secretary wanted to scrap¹⁰ USAID, independent since its creation 1961, and fold it into the State Department. But that would have required legislation and a possible battle with agency supporters in Congress.

The foreign aid shakeup came only a day after Rice announced a redeployment of U.S. overseas diplomats¹¹ from a Cold War-era focus on Europe to the developing world and emerging powers in Asia.

She told the foreign aid gathering¹² that action will require new skills and career paths for the 6,400 strong U.S. diplomatic corps.

"We are forward-deploying our people to the cities and countries and regions where they are needed most. We are moving our diplomats from Europe and Washington to critical countries like China and India and South Africa and Indonesia. We are giving more of our people new training and language skills to engage directly with foreign peoples," she said. "And we are empowering our diplomats to work more jointly¹³ with America's service men and women."

The secretary served notice that diplomats cannot expect to be promoted to senior levels unless they have served in hardship and dangerous posts and are fluent in two foreign languages, citing Chinese, Arabic and Urdu as preferred examples.

About 100 State Department jobs in Washington and Europe are immediately being shifted to embassies in new priority countries, and officials say more than 2,000 positions will eventually be affected¹⁴.

1 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

2 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

3 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

4 concurrent   

adj.同时发生的，一致的

参考例句：

• You can't attend two concurrent events!你不能同时参加两项活动！
• The twins had concurrent birthday. 双胞胎生日在同一天。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

8 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

9 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

10 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

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 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。

13 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。