2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Calls for Israeli Restraint

By Scott Stearns
Rostock, Germany
14 July 2006

Condoleezza Rice  
  
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is calling on Israel to exercise restraint in its ongoing¹ military offensive to free kidnapped Israeli soldiers. She says Syria and Iran must stop backing terrorists.

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Secretary Rice would not comment specifically on the Israeli bombing of Beirut's airport, repeating the Bush Administration stance that Israel has the right to defend itself against missile strikes launched from Lebanese territory.

But as Israel exercises that right of self defense², Rice says it is important that Israeli leaders exercise restraint and avoid civilian³ casualties.

Rice says the Bush Administration understands that Israel is launching attacks so far inside Lebanon to prevent those who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers from moving them beyond Israel's reach.

Speaking to reporters traveling with President Bush in Germany, Rice said some countries, including Egypt, have been playing a very positive role in working to resolve the crisis by bringing parties together.

She says there is no doubt that others, namely Syria and Iran, are encouraging those responsible for the kidnappings and missile attacks on Israeli territory. "We have to remember that both the external leadership of Hamas and a number of the Hezbollah activities are carried out from the territory of Syria, and Syria needs to act responsibly and stop the use of its territory for these kinds of activities and it needs to bring all pressure on those that it is harboring to stop this and to return these soldiers and to allow this situation to deescalate," he said.

Following talks with German Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel, President Bush expressed concerns about how Israeli attacks inside Lebanon will affect the stability of the democratically-elected government in Beirut.

National Security Advisor⁵ Stephen Hadley says Israeli authorities understand the risks facing Prime Minister Faud Siniora. "We have had a number of comments and conversations about the need to try and shore-up and not destabilize the Siniora government in Lebanon. This is a good government that is trying to bring greater democracy and freedom to Lebanon. It has a lot of challenges. This is one more challenge that they do not need," he said.

Rice says the best opportunity now to deescalate the crisis is through a three-member United Nations delegation⁶ heading to the region.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

5 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

6 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。