2007年VOA标准英语-Indian Foreign Minister in Pakistan for Talks

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
13 January 2007

Pakistan and India held talks to review progress in their slow-moving three-year-old peace dialogue Saturday. As VOA's Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad, there were no major breakthroughs, but both sides hailed the talks as a significant step toward improved relations.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, right, shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders Saturday.

Both sides vowed¹ to redouble their efforts to improve relations, and announced a fourth round of peace talks scheduled for March.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri told reporters, progress had been made toward resolving the longstanding dispute over the Siachen glacier², where thousands of Pakistani and Indian forces have squared off since 1984.

"Given the political will, it can be resolved in days, because a lot of work has been done, and his excellency Foreign Minister Mukherjee and I are aware of what work has been done," he said.

The glacier is widely considered the world's highest battleground and hundreds of soldiers from both countries have been killed in combat and from the region's freezing winter weather.

In a written statement released Saturday evening, President Musharraf said a new, more positive atmosphere had taken hold of the bilateral³ peace talks.

General Musharraf, as he has in the past, said the divided region of Kashmir remains⁴ at the very heart of the two countries' decades' old conflict.

Both countries claim the Himalayan highland⁵, and the nuclear armed rivals have fought several wars and countless⁶ skirmishes over the disputed territory.

New Delhi has repeatedly accused Pakistan of supporting insurgent⁷ forces operating inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge.

Fighting in the region has claimed nearly 45,000 lives since the insurgency⁸ began in 1989.

Islamist militants⁹ with alleged¹⁰ ties to Pakistan have also staged a series of deadly bomb attacks inside India itself.

The two foreign ministers confirmed on Saturday the launch of a new joint¹¹ anti-terror group, aimed - at least in part - at easing tensions over those attacks.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 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。

5 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

8 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 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

11 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。