2006年VOA标准英语-India, Pakistan Renew Commitment to Peace Proce

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
01 August 2006

South Asian rivals India and Pakistan have expressed their commitment to a peace process that New Delhi had put on hold following last month's serial¹ bombings in its financial capital Mumbai. This is the first meeting between the two sides since the terror attacks that killed more than 180 people.

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After informal talks on the sidelines of a South Asian regional conference in Bangladesh, the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan struck a positive note, saying the peace process should not be adversely² affected³ by the July 11 Mumbai bombings.

The meeting late Monday signaled a change in New Delhi's position. Last month, India postponed⁴ peace talks after saying that a Pakistan-based Islamic rebel group (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and Islamabad's military spy agency may have been involved in the bomb blasts that ripped apart commuter⁵ trains in Mumbai. Pakistan has strongly denied any link to the terror attacks.

In Dhaka, Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran reiterated⁶ New Delhi's concerns about violence by Islamist militants⁷ based in Pakistan, but stressed that the peace dialogue is "important".

"Pakistan and India need to work together. We are neighbors and we are engaged in a peace process, which is important to both countries," said Saran. "And it is very important that in order to allow this process to move forward there must be a commitment to abandoning cross-border terrorism in whatever form it occurs."

Pakistani foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan called the meeting with his Indian counterpart "positive", and said they discussed "how to move forward." He said there was no alternative to the peace process.

Since beginning the peace talks in January 2004, the two sides have made headway in restoring several cross-border travel links, although their core dispute over the divided territory of Kashmir remains⁸ unresolved.

No dates have yet been set for new talks but a former Indian ambassador to Islamabad, G. Parthasarthy, says he expects the peace process to regain⁹ momentum¹⁰.

"I don't think it has taken any substantive¹¹ setback," he said. "I for one have personally believed that several confidence-building measures have taken place particularly with regard to people-to-people contact and I would hope that those will continue."

The Mumbai blasts raised fears that the India-Pakistan peace process may have been jeopardized¹². But analysts¹³ say the nuclear rivals now want to halt a slide in relations that could endanger efforts to end decades of animosity.

1 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

2 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

11 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。

12 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

13 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。