2006年VOA标准英语-UN Elects Panama as New Member of Security Coun

By Peter Heinlein
New York
07 November 2006 

Arias1 votes in UN General Assembly, November 7, 2006" src="/upimg/allimg/070508/1116440.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> Panama's Ambassador Dr. Ricardo Arias votes in UN General Assembly, November 7, 2006

Panama has been elected to a U.N. Security Council seat that had been the object of a bitter battle between Venezuela and Guatemala. The election came on the 48th ballot².

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The General Assembly broke into applause when President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa announced that weeks of stalemate had been broken.

"Having obtained the required two-thirds majority, and the largest number of votes, Panama is elected a member of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on first January 2007,"  she said.

Panama had emerged as a compromise candidate last week after Venezuela and Guatemala agreed to withdraw. During 47 rounds of voting over more than two weeks, each side had shown enough strength to block the other from winning, but neither side had enough to win.

The campaign had been highly politicized, with the United States openly campaigning against Venezuela's candidacy. U.S. diplomats³ argued that Venezuela's leftist government, led by anti-American President Hugo Chavez, would be a disruptive influence on the Council.

In a speech to the annual General Assembly debate in September, Mr. Chavez had referred to President Bush as "the devil".

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton described Washington's intervention⁴ in the race as "extraordinary."

"It has been our traditional posture⁵ not to intervene in the internal discussions of the regional groups, and our position on Guatemala and Venezuela was extraordinary because of the risk of disruption to the Council that we saw Venezuela bringing," said Bolton. "That risk is apparently⁶ now being removed, so we will ratify⁷ the decision on Panama and move ahead from there."

Venezuela's U.N. ambassador, Francisco Arias Cardenas, said after the vote that he did not consider the outcome a defeat. He spoke⁸ to the Assembly through an interpreter.

"We would prefer to say that we would not like to speak of losers and defeat, but there must be lessons learned from these 46 rounds of balloting⁹ in the General Assembly," noted¹⁰ Cardenas. "For the big countries, it should be clear that they cannot impose, that the Assembly will not accept imposition, and it exercises its freedom in democracy."

Panama will replace Argentina on the Council. Peru holds the other elected Latin American seat on the 15-member body.

In other regional elections last month, Italy and Belgium were elected without opposition¹¹ to European seats, replacing Greece and Denmark. Indonesia easily beat back a challenge by Nepal for an Asian seat, currently held by Japan, and South Africa was unopposed for an African seat being vacated by Tanzania.

The United States, Britain, France, China and Russia are permanent Council members. Ghana, Congo, Qatar and the Slovak republic hold the other elected seats.

1 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 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》

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 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

8 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。

9 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 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。