2006年VOA标准英语-UN AIDS Conference Ends With Groundbreakin

By Peter Heinlein
Heinlein
03 June 2006

A high-level U.N conference on AIDS has exposed deep strategic differences between world leaders and rights groups representing victims of the epidemic¹. A final conference declaration breaks new ground in addressing what Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls "the greatest challenge of our generation".

----------------------------------------------------

First lady Laura Bush addresses the High-Level Meeting on AIDS in the UN General Assembly  
  

Speaking to an audience of presidents, prime ministers, an African king, U.S. first lady Laura Bush and more than one hundred government minister Friday, Secretary-General Annan spoke² the painful truth. The billions of dollars spent on fighting AIDS have failed to stop the spread of the deadly disease. "The epidemic continues to outpace us. Last year, globally, there were more new infections than ever before, and more people died than ever before," he said.

Mrs. Bush, heading the U.S. delegation³ at the meeting, urged world leaders to ensure that their people understand clearly how the disease spreads. "All people need to know how AIDS is transmitted, and every country has an obligation to educate its citizens. This is why every country must also improve literacy, especially for women and girls, so they can learn to make wise choices that will keep them healthy and safe," she said.

A non-binding declaration presented to the meeting Friday calls for more than doubling funds to fight AIDS over the next five years. But major donor⁴ countries, including the United States, Japan and European countries objected to activists⁵' demand for strict financial targets.

Many AIDS activists denounced the final declaration, charging that it did not go far enough in committing governments to action.

But U.N. AIDS Chief, Dr. Peter Piot, who worked hard to reach an agreement, rejected the activists' criticism. He noted⁶ that the declaration places on the international agenda for the first time such controversial issues as condom use, and the spread of AIDS among vulnerable groups such as injecting drug users, prostitutes and homosexuals. "This is where I totally disagree with the activists' analysis when it comes to the prevention of HIV and injecting drug users. I know this will be extremely useful for people working on AIDS in countries. For the first time, a number of some of the most controversial issues in AIDS are in there with an internationally-agreed text," he said.

General Assembly President Jan Eliasson attempted to soothe⁷ AIDS activists upset by the agreement. He called the declaration a "forward-looking document" that contains stronger language that might have been possible considering the deep divisions over politically sensitive issues. "The United Nations is also a reflection, a mirror of the world as it is. There's 191 nations negotiating. You want to have agreement by all nations. An alternative would be to write something very lofty to which nobody would pay any attention. Now all countries are committed to this, and they if do what is in this document, they will have a lot of things done," he said.

The draft declaration recognizes the need to spend $23 billion a year in the fight against AIDS, but does not commit donors⁸ to any specific contribution. The United States previously⁹ announced a five-year, $15 billion initiative to combat the disease in 120 countries.

U.N. officials estimate that 25 million people have died since AIDS was first identified a quarter of a century ago

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 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。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。