2006年VOA标准英语-G-8 Summit Overshadowed by Middle East Crisis

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
20 July 2006

Experts say very little was accomplished¹ at the just completed G-8 summit bringing together leaders of the world's major industrialized democracies. In this report from Washington, The summit was overtaken by events in the Middle East. 

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G8 summit leaders gather for group photo  
  
For the second year in a row, the work of the G-8 summit was overshadowed by dramatic international developments. Last year, summit participants had to cut short their meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair rushed back to London after a series of terrorist bombs killed more than 50 people in the British capital.

This year the G-8 summit took place in St. Petersburg, Russia. But participants were forced to focus their attention on the Middle East, where a conflict erupted between Israeli troops and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Experts say this was an important meeting for Russian president Vladimir Putin, because it was the first G-8 summit held on Russian soil. The Russian president also did not want the St. Petersburg meeting to turn into a forum² for criticizing his internal policies seen by many western leaders as anti-democratic.

Marshal Goldman, a Russia expert with Harvard University, says that didn't happen.

"There were going to be some complaints about the moving backwards³ from the commitment to democracy, but maybe the explosions in the Middle East helped to detract from those kinds of concerns," said Mr. Goldman.  "And I think people were just happy to get out of there with no major differences, given the sudden tension that developed in the Middle East."

Goldman says while there were no open criticisms of President Putin's policies, he believes Mr. Bush and other Western leaders made their concerns known, privately⁴.

Analysts⁵ say the special personal friendship between Presidents Bush and Putin in evidence over the years was also on display at the summit, but Robert Legvold, a Russia expert with Columbia University says there were also some tense moments.

"Such as Bush talking about democracy in Iraq and promoting the idea of democracy generally, including Russia, and Putin firing back that he would just as soon not have democracy in the fashion of Iraq," he said.  "That's not a real testiness⁶ or hostility⁷, or certainly not a personal friction⁸ between the two, but it shows that on the specific policy issues, these two are now putting distance between themselves."

Legvold and Goldman say there is continuing disagreement on another policy issue, Russia's desire to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The United States is the only country still blocking Russia's accession to the world body. Washington says there are still some important issues to be resolved before Moscow can join.

Legvold says the big disappointment on the Russian side is that no agreement was reached.

"There was a clear effort on the part of both sides to try to negotiate around the clock and get this thing done so that it could be announced at the end of the Saturday bilateral⁹ summit," he added.  "That failed because on at least two of the major remaining three issues, they haven't been able to dot the 'Is' and cross the 'Ts' - whether it's agriculture, intellectual property rights, access for insurance companies and banking¹⁰ companies in Russia."

But Legvold believes the two sides will ultimately reach an agreement in the next few months.

Overall, analysts say very little was accomplished at St. Petersburg. The participants produced non-controversial statements on such issues as Iran, North Korea, energy security, terrorism and global trade. 

Legvold says even the final communiqué on the crisis in Lebanon was bland¹¹, urging both sides to end the violence.

"The final statement on Lebanon and Israel was walking a tightrope¹², or maybe even more accurately¹³, trying to be all things to all people," he explained.  "Because even though it had each of the country's positions in it, it was ambiguous enough so that each national leader could come away saying we got what we wanted.  But when you get that kind of lowest common denominator, it really doesn't create much help for addressing the situation.  What you see now is that the American administration is going to send its secretary of state to the Middle East.  The French are going to go off on their own.  Blair coordinated¹⁴ with the Bush administration and the Russians have said we are not going to take an initiative either to travel there, or in general, within the United Nations, that we are going to leave it to the Europeans."

Analysts say despite the lack of substantive¹⁵ agreements and policy initiatives, the St. Petersburg summit achieved one goal: it was a public relations success for President Vladimir Putin who made sure the meeting proceeded smoothly¹⁶ with, at the end, no major disagreements among the participants.

1 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 testiness   

n.易怒，暴躁

参考例句：

• Testiness crept into my voice. 我的话音渐渐带上了怒气。 来自辞典例句

7 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

8 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

11 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

12 tightrope   

n.绷紧的绳索或钢丝

参考例句：

• The audience held their breath as the acrobat walked along the tightrope.杂技演员走钢丝时，观众都屏住了呼吸。
• The tightrope walker kept her balance by holding up an umbrella.走钢丝的演员举着一把伞，保持身体的均衡。

13 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

14 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

16 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。