2006年VOA标准英语-Sri Lankan Government, Rebels Agree to Lon

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
25 January 2006

Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to hold new talks in Switzerland aimed at shoring up their deteriorating¹ peace agreement. Norwegian peace broker² Eric Solheim announced the agreement after a meeting with the rebels' leader.

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LTTE leader Prabhakaran, center, leader of LTTE political wing P. Thamilselvan, left, and chief negotiator and political strategist of LTTE Balasingham, right, in meeting with Norwegian peace envoy³ Eric Solheim in Sri Lanka, 25 January 2006 
  

Officials say these talks, slated⁴ for next month, have a limited but important goal - ending the spate⁵ of cease-fire violations⁶ that has left more than 150 Sri Lankans dead in recent weeks. Only after hostilities⁷ cease will attention be turned to the core issues that divide Sri Lanka's government and its ethnic⁸ Tamil rebels.

Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council, a Colombo-based advocacy group, says ending the bloody⁹ cease-fire violations is a vital first step. The violence has stopped short of a return to all-out war, he says, but is still affecting the country seriously.

"The increased violence is what has led to people dying, rising tension, cordon-and-search operations that are making life a misery¹⁰ for civilians¹¹, led to tourists not coming. Investors¹² also postponing¹³ their business decisions," said Perera.

Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim announced the decision to hold the talks in Geneva, Switzerland, after meeting with Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakharan Wednesday in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi. The simple question of where to hold the talks had become a source of contention¹⁴ in recent months.

Mr. Solheim helped broker the 2002 peace accord between the government and the rebels, after nearly two decades of conflict. But the peace process quickly became deadlocked¹⁵, and the two sides have not met face to face since 2003.

The rebels originally demanded independence for the north and east of Sri Lanka, where the ethnic Tamil minority is predominant. Later, they downgraded their demand, agreeing to increased autonomy in those areas. But the two sides could not find common ground on the issue of power-sharing.

A Tamil Tiger spokesman says the rebels will halt all military activities ahead of talks, and has called on the government to do the same.

Some observers, including senior U.S. officials, blame the rebels for the bulk of the cease-fire violations. The rebels claim that the recent attacks have been carried out by paramilitary organizations linked to the government.

1 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

2 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。

3 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

4 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

5 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

14 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

15 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。