2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Meets Rice on Proposed UN Mideast Resoluti

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
06 August 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures during a news conference near President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch¹, Sunday, August 6, 2006   
  
President Bush is consulting with top aides at his Texas ranch on steps to halt the fighting in the Middle East. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says a draft U.N. resolution under review by the Security Council is the first step toward bringing the bloodshed to an end.

Secretary Rice says it is important to get a vote on the resolution in the next day or two to clear the way for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants² in Lebanon.

"I would hope that you would see very early on, an end to the kind of large-scale violence, large-scale military operations, and firing of rockets, that we have been seeing," she said.

The proposed resolution, which was negotiated by France and the United States, calls for a cessation of hostilities³ leading to a permanent ceasefire. Rice acknowledges it is not likely to bring a total end to the violence overnight. All the same, she says the resolution is an important first step.

"I cannot say that you should rule out that there could be skirmishes of some kind for some time to come," noted⁴ Rice. "This is not meant to be a permanent condition. It is meant to create conditions on which a more permanent enduring ceasefire can be built."

Speaking to reporters near the president's Texas ranch, Rice said once this resolution is passed, the Security Council will move to the next phase and begin the process of authorizing⁵ an international force and strengthening the Lebanese government.

"This is really, now, an opportunity to extend the authority of the Lebanese government throughout its own territory. That really has to be the goal. Everybody is focused on the international forces, but the international forces are there to assist in the important work of getting the Lebanese to fill the vacuum that has developed in the south," added Rice.

But Lebanese officials have criticized the draft resolution because it does not call for a complete withdrawal⁶ from Lebanon of Israeli forces.

Rice told reporters the resolution keeps forces in place, while dealing⁷ with the violence that has taken such a high toll⁸ on civilian⁹ populations on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

She stressed no one wants to see the Israelis remain indefinitely, and that includes the Israeli government. And, she said, the resolution will offer the world an opportunity to see the true intentions of both parties to the conflict - Israel and Hezbollah.

"Now, I know Hezbollah has said all kinds of things. I have heard 'we should have an immediate¹⁰ ceasefire,' and 'we will keep fighting,' I have heard all of these things. What we need to focus on is, when this Security Council resolution is passed, we are going to know who really did want to stop violence and who did not," she said.

Rice said the United States has been consulting with other Security Council members on the draft resolution. She said there have been positive comments, most notably¹¹ from Russia, one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council with veto power.

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 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。

3 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。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 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。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 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。

11 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。