2006年VOA标准英语-Rice in Asia, Addresses Major International Sec

By Heda Bayron
Kuala Lumpur
27 July 2006

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has assured Asia's top diplomats¹ that the United States will continue working for a lasting² resolution to the Middle East crisis.  But the possibility of action on another pressing security issue, North Korea's nuclear weapons, seems to be fading.

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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice  
  
The U.S. secretary of state says she is willing to return to the Middle East if her presence will help end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants³.

"I am willing and ready to go back to the Middle East at any time if I think we can move to a sustainable cease-fire that can end the violence," said Ms. Rice.

Rice had visited Lebanon and Israel before flying here to the Malaysian capital for the annual ASEAN Regional Forum⁴.  Asian foreign ministers have expressed concern over the rising death and destruction in Lebanon.
 
In a joint⁵ statement Thursday, the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their 10 dialogue partners, including the United States, Japan, China and Russia, called for all parties to work towards a just, durable⁶ and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

A crisis conference in Rome Wednesday failed to agree on a plan to end the fighting.  Rice refrained here from calling for an immediate⁷ cease-fire unless there a durable peace can be achieved.

The Kuala Lumpur statement also called for the resolution of another international security problem, North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.  That issue was given added urgency earlier this month when Pyongyang test-fired seven missiles.

The meeting's chairman, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, says the ministers strongly urged North Korea - also known as DPRK - to refrain from any action that might aggravate⁸ tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"The meetings supported the early resumption of the six-party talks and the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue in a peaceful manner," he said.

North Korea has been boycotting⁹ six nations talks on its weapons programs since November.  It says it will not rejoin the talks until Washington lifts economic sanctions it imposed to curb¹⁰ alleged¹¹ counterfeiting¹² and money laundering¹³ by Pyongyang.

The dignitaries attending the ASEAN forum include the foreign ministers of all six nations involved in the nuclear talks: the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, South and North Korea.  Diplomats had hoped to get all six together for informal talks on the sidelines of the forum, which concludes Friday.

But a North Korean spokesman on Thursday said there would be no such six-party meeting, and the U.S. envoy¹⁴ to the talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, told reporters the United States had no intention of meeting the North one-on-one. Instead, he said, a broader group composed of the remaining five nations to the talks, plus Malaysia, Australia and Canada, will meet Friday to discuss the issue.

1 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》

2 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。

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 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。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

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 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

9 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

13 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。