2006年VOA标准英语-US Continues to Resist Joining Calls for Mideas

By Michael Bowman
Washington
19 July 2006

The Bush administration says it stands with the international community in wanting an end to bloodshed along the Israeli-Lebanese border, but only when the groundwork for a lasting¹ cessation of hostilities² has been laid.

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Member of Lebanese civil defense³ rides his motorcycle amongst rubble⁴, in Beirut suburbs after Israeli airstrikes targeted area, July 18, 2006 
  
With each passing day, as the death toll⁵ mounts in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants⁷, international calls for a ceasefire grow stronger, and the abstinence of the United States from such calls comes under greater scrutiny⁸. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the United States is attempting to balance immediate⁹ concerns for the loss of innocent life with the long-term goal of forging a solution that will prevent future conflicts.

"Hezbollah and their backers have dragged innocent people into the current situation, so Secretary Rice's view, President Bush's view, I think a view that is widely shared, is [that] you want to arrive at a cessation of violence," said Mr. McCormack.  "But you want that cessation of violence to unfold in such a way that you have a solution whereby the world, the region does not end up in the same place it is right now three weeks from now, three months from now, three years from now."

In New York, America's representative to the United Nations, John Bolton, questioned whether a ceasefire would be effective or even possible.

"Any ceasefire is going to have to be accompanied by a qualitative¹⁰ change in the situation," said Mr. Bolton.  "The simple reflexive action of asking for a ceasefire is not something that is really appropriate in a situation like this. Because you have to know who the parties would be to any cessation of hostilities. How do you get a ceasefire with a terrorist organization? I'm not sure it's possible."

Israel has said it has no intention of halting strikes on Hezbollah positions until the group's ability to launch attacks on Israel is eliminated, and the United States has shown no appetite to publicly pressure Israel to cease military operations, at least for now.

The Bush administration notes that the international community has placed blame for the crisis squarely on Hezbollah. McCormack said Saudi Arabia and other nations in the region have a role to play in ending the conflict by pressuring Syria and Iran to halt their support of militant⁶ group.

Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travels in New York to meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Friday, she is to be briefed by a U.N. team returning from the Middle East. Rice has said she is more than willing to travel to the Middle East, but only when she deems it appropriate and helpful to do so.

At the State Department, McCormack was asked about the possibility of an international security monitoring presence for southern Lebanon. The spokesman was non-committal, except to say, in his words, "It is a very interesting idea."

McCormack was more forthright¹¹ when asked about the possibility of aid for Lebanon, which has been pounded by Israeli air strikes.

"Certainly the Lebanese people, who have been victimized by Hezbollah and its actions, will have needs," he said.  "So certainly, we want to look and have begun discussions with our partners in the international arena¹² about ways in which we, as an international community, might help the Lebanese people."

Meanwhile, the first chartered flight carrying U.S. evacuees¹³ is expected to arrive at an airport north of Washington Thursday. U.S. officials say nine chartered flights have been arranged so far from Cyprus, where evacuees have been shuttled from Lebanon by air and sea. State Department officials say 1,200 Americans were evacuated¹⁴ from Beirut Wednesday, and a similar number is expected to be taken to safety Thursday.  An estimated 25,000 U.S. citizens were in Lebanon at the start of the conflict last week.

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

3 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。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 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。

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

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 qualitative   

adj.性质上的，质的，定性的

参考例句：

• There are qualitative differences in the way children and adults think.孩子和成年人的思维方式有质的不同。
• Arms races have a quantitative and a qualitative aspects.军备竞赛具有数量和质量两个方面。

11 forthright   

adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank

参考例句：

• It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。
• He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

12 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

13 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。