2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Urges Prompt UN Action for Darfur

By Michael Bowman
White House
02 October 2006
 
President Bush says prompt U.N. action is required to save lives in Sudan's Darfur region. The president spoke¹ with reporters after meeting with his new special envoy² to Sudan, Monday.

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President Bush says the world has a responsibility to respond to what he views as genocide in Darfur. He said the United Nations has an important role to play in ending human suffering in the Sudanese region, but that time is of the essence.

George W. Bush    
  
"In my view, the United Nations should not wait any longer to approve a blue-helmeted force, a U.N. force of peacekeepers to protect the innocent people," he said.

Mr. Bush said his new envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, will be asked to rally the international community to, as he put it, "solve the problem" in Darfur.

Natsios faces significant hurdles³, beginning with the fact the Sudanese government has been slow to approve a visa for the envoy, effectively blocking his access to the country.

In addition, Sudan has rejected a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur, which the Security Council approved in August. U.N. observers say the possibility of sanctions to compel Sudan to change its stance has been undermined by opposition⁴ from China, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council.

Andrew Natsios    
  
Yet Natsios struck an upbeat tone at the White House, saying he knows leaders in all regions of Sudan, and will make use of those contacts to forge a lasting⁵ solution to violence in Darfur.

"Our objective is not just to have a temporary fix for two months, but to try to deal with the root causes of this, so we do not have a fourth war in five years, should we end this one successfully," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have perished in three years of fighting between ethnic-minority rebel groups and militias⁶ backed by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. More than two million others have been displaced.

Human rights groups are bracing⁷ for another a surge in bloodshed in Darfur amid a new government offensive against rebels.

The Sudanese government insists it can contain the violence on its own, and has suggested re-inforcing an existing 7,000-member African Union force in Darfur. The Bush administration says the AU force is inadequate⁸.

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 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。

3 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

8 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。