2006年VOA标准英语-Rome Conference Fails to Agree on Plan to End I

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
26 July 2006

Crisis talks on Lebanon have been held at a conference on the Middle East in Rome, but no agreement was reached on an immediate¹ ceasefire.  The meeting was co-chaired by Italy and the United States.

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Delegates at the Rome meeting agreed on the need to work immediately to reach a ceasefire that puts an end to the current violence in Lebanon.  But they failed to work out the details.  

Lebanon premier² Fuad Saniora, left, and Condoleezza Rice during press conference at end of Mideast conference on Lebanon in Rome, July 26, 2006  
  
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had made clear that no lasting³ peace could be reached in the area until the right conditions are in place.

"We are all agreed that we want most urgently to end the violence on a basis that this time will be sustainable because unfortunately this is a region that has had too many broken ceasefires, too many spasms⁴ of violence," said Ms. Rice.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Israeli artillery⁵ has been pounding his country for the past 15 days.  Scores of people are dying every day, he added, and Lebanon is on its knees.  He said delaying a ceasefire posed dangers.
 
"The more we delay the cease-fire, the more we are going to witness more are being killed, more destruction and more aggression⁶ against the civilians⁷ in Lebanon," he said.

Ministers from 15 countries attended the meeting.  But neither Israel not Hezbollah and its allies Syria and Iran were invited to take part.  U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke⁸ of the importance to reach a regional solution, involving all the players. 

 
Condoleeza Rice talks to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at La Farnesina Foreign Ministry⁹ in Rome, July 26, 2006
  
"It is important that we work with the countries of the region to find a solution that should also include Iran and Syria," said Mr. Annan.

Participants at the meeting agreed on the need for an international force in Lebanon under a U.N. mandate¹⁰ that has a strong and robust¹¹ capability¹² to help bring about peace.

And the U.N. secretary-general appealed for nations to come forward with commitments to contribute troops.

Delegates also agreed on humanitarian¹³ aid for Lebanon and on holding a donors¹⁴' conference.

1 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。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 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。

4 spasms   

n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作

参考例句：

• After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后，痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句

5 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 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。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

12 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》