2006年VOA标准英语-Blair Calls for Reconciliation in International

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
26 May 2006

Tony Blair (file photo)  
  
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says, now should be a moment for reconciliation¹, not only in Iraq, but in the international community as well.  In a speech Friday at Georgetown University in Washington, Mr. Blair addressed some of the challenges facing the world community.

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Mr. Blair was in Washington for talks with President Bush, just days after meeting with Iraq's new government in Baghdad. In his remarks Friday, the British leader said, in the three years since Saddam Hussein was ousted², Iraq has seen bloodshed and strife³, but, in spite of that, a democratic political process is now growing, and he urged the world to support it.

"This is a child of democracy struggling to be born. They and we, the international community are the midwives," said Mr. Blair.

Mr. Blair said terrorism in Iraq is the same as in the rest of the world. He said the terrorists hope to defeat not just democracy in Iraq, but democratic values everywhere.

"They kill ordinary Iraqis for wanting to join the police, or build their country, or just for being of one religious persuasion⁴ not another," he added.  "Theirs is a strategy drenched⁵ in the blood of the innocent. Should their determination to do evil eclipse our desire to do good?"

Turning to the wider Middle East, Mr. Blair urged a resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, saying the only possible solution is two-states living side-by-side.  He said the only route to such an outcome is if the Hamas-led Palestinian government rejects violence and accepts the international Road Map peace plan. 

Looking beyond the Middle East, the prime minister said the world must act to end global poverty, especially in Africa, as well end unfair trade practices and protect the environment.

"If we believe in our responsibility to the generations that come after us, how can we knowingly be indifferent to the degradation⁶ of the planet we live on? How can we have a global trading system based on unfair trade?" he asked.

During his two-days in Washington, Mr. Blair and President Bush held a working dinner Thursday night at the White House to discuss Iraq. The two leaders also met for lunch Friday.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

4 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

5 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。