2006年VOA标准英语-Middle East Diplomatic Efforts Intensify

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
18 July 2006

Diplomatic efforts to end the latest conflict in the Middle East intensified¹, Tuesday, as United Nations diplomats² met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem, after holding talks in Beirut. The talks took place as Israeli military officials warned their campaign in Lebanon could last several more weeks and could involve a large-scale ground incursion by Israeli troops.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says Israel would consider agreeing to a cease-fire in Lebanon, if Hezbollah militants³ release two Israeli soldiers they are holding and meet other conditions.

"This must include the effective deployment⁵ of the Lebanese armed forces throughout the south, in place of Hezbollah, and the disarming⁶ of Hezbollah as a militia," said Livni. "It must include a complete end to the shelling of Israeli cities. It must also include the prevention of Syria and Iran to rearm Hezbollah in the future."

Previously⁷, Israeli officials had insisted that Hezbollah must be disarmed⁸ as a pre-condition to any cease-fire. Livni also says Israel's soldiers being held captive must be released without any preconditions.

Livni's comments came after a meeting with a three-man team of U.N. diplomats. Terje Roed-Larson, one of the three, told reporters the talks were "good and intensive," and that the U.N. team submitted a number of proposals to Israel to end the crisis.

"I think that both parties agree that it is necessary to have a political framework in order to reach eventually a cease-fire," said Roed-Larson.

No further details were available about the proposals, but U.N. officials say they expect both sides to spend several days studying them.

Speaking on Israeli Army Radio, Tuesday, the country's deputy army chief said the campaign against Hezbollah could last several more weeks. He also refused to rule out sending large numbers of Israeli ground troops into Lebanon.

Israeli ground troops withdrew from southern Lebanon, six years ago, after an 18-year occupation. Shlomo Brum, the former head of strategic planning for Israel's Army, says, if large numbers of ground troops do go back into Lebanon, they will not occupy the territory as they did in the past.

"My impression is that we are not going to repeat that mistake. That does not mean that ground forces will not used in this campaign," said Brum. "It is quite possible, but I think they will be used differently. We may perform incursions for the purpose of destroying Hezbollah forces, but then we will leave Lebanese territory. We will not stay there."

American officials say U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the region soon, in a further bid to end the crisis. However, U.S. officials have joined Israel in expressing skepticism about any plans to deploy⁴ international peacekeepers in Lebanon to enforce any future ceasefire. The Americans also say they do not believe an immediate⁹ cease-fire would end the crisis.

Meanwhile, Israel carried numerous air strikes against targets in Lebanon, Tuesday. Hezbollah militants retaliated¹⁰ with a barrage¹¹ of rocket fire against Israel's third-largest city, Haifa, where rockets struck the city's port and rail yard.

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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》

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

11 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。