2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Meets With Saudi Officials on Mideast Cris

By Paula Wolfson
White House
23 July 2006

President Bush met privately¹ at the White House Sunday with top Saudi diplomats² as the search continues for a formula to end the bloodshed between Israeli and Lebanese-based Hezbollah militants³. The meeting took place just hours before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to head to the region.

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President Bush, center, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, meet at the White House with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal  
  
President Bush and Secretary Rice met for about an hour with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and Prince Bandar bin⁴ Sultan, the head of the Saudi National Security Council.

The talks were held in private, with no public comments. But after the session, the foreign minister spoke⁵ briefly⁶ with reporters.

He said he gave President Bush a letter from Saudi King Abdullah calling for an immediate⁷ ceasefire. "We requested a ceasefire to allow for the cessation of hostilities⁸ that would allow for the building of the forces of Lebanon," he said.

Saud said the primary concern is protecting Lebanon's sovereignty, adding President Bush is well aware of the toll⁹ the conflict is taking on the Lebanese people. "I found the president very conscious of the destruction and the bloodshed the Lebanese are suffering and anxiety to see the cessation of hostilities," he said.

But the Bush administration has said an immediate ceasefire will not work, and that only a long-term solution that disarms¹⁰ Hezbollah while strengthening the Lebanese government will ensure peace.

The Saudi Official refused to speak about the differences of approach to the matter, saying only that he did not want to say anything that would jeopardize¹¹ Secretary Rice's trip. He also sidestepped questions about reports the United States wants Saudi Arabia to use its leverage¹² with Syrian to convince Damascus to rein¹³ in Hezbollah.

Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, told the Fox News Sunday television program that Rice is going to the region to convince others that a long-term solution that addresses the root causes of the violence is needed. "We've got to think of the longer term here. There may be an opportunity. We've got to go about it in a sustained fashion," he said.

In a subsequent appearance on CNN's Late Edition, Bolton was asked about indications from Israel that it might accept an international peacekeeping force along the Israeli-Lebanese border under NATO command Bolton said it was a new idea, and one worth serious consideration. "I think we all need to be creative. But we need to keep the idea before us within the larger political solution Secretary Rice is seeking," he said.

On NBC's Meet the Press, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten said a NATO force is one possible option to help end the fighting. But he said it is unlikely U.S. troops will be involved. "Secretary Rice said the day before yesterday that she didn't consider that at all likely. But she will be talking with our friends and allies about whether and when a force might be appropriate and how it might be constructed," he said.

Rice plans to consult in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and in the West Bank with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She will travel on to Rome Wednesday for talks on the crisis with European and Arab officials.

1 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。

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 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 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。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 disarms   

v.裁军( disarm的第三人称单数 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He was that rarest of statesmen, one whose integrity disarms even his critics. 他为人正直，连批评他的人也佩服他三分，在当代政治家中实属罕见。 来自辞典例句
• Disarm: This ability now disarms ranged weapons as well. 缴械：这个技能现在同时可以缴械对方的远程武器。 来自互联网

11 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

12 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

13 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。