2007年VOA标准英语-West African Leaders Focus on Guinea; Encourage

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
20 January 2007

West African heads of state have concluded a summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.  The top two issues were the on-going general strike in Guinea and the stalled peace process in Ivory Coast. The leaders expressed concern over the situation Guinea.  They also sought to encourage dialogue in the Ivory Coast.  Phuong Tran reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

 
Burkina Faso's President  and newly-elected chairman of ECOWAS, Blaise Compaore
As a second week of strikes continues to incite¹ deadly violence and paralyze industry in Guinea, eleven presidents issued a communiqué urging the newly-elected chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore, to send a high-level peace delegation² to Guinea.

Officials of the regional group known as ECOWAS said the delegation could include Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade³.

One of the summit participants, Burkina Faso's Minister of Regional Cooperation, Jean de Dieu Somda, says instability in Guinea requires immediate⁴ attention.

"Heads of states have to understand the [situation] of Guinea and try to know what ECOWAS can do to help this country in this actual situation," he said.

 
Lansana Conte (File)
Absent from the meeting was Guinean President Lansana Conte. Union leaders have demanded Mr. Conte set up a transitional government. They say the ailing⁵ president is unfit to solve the country's worsening economic crisis.

Mr. Conte dismissed his minister of presidential affairs late Friday and replaced him with a close ally.  It is not clear why the president took the action.

Guinean union leaders say the replacement⁶, which comes from the president's party, was an insufficient⁷ gesture.  They continue to demand that Mr. Conte step aside. 

In addition to Guinea, Ivory Coast also dominated the agenda.  In the face of a stalled U.N.-backed peace process, the heads of state welcomed Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's initiative to engage in direct talks with the rebels who control the northern half of the country.

Mr. Gbagbo has previously⁸ blamed the ECOWAS group for being incompetent⁹ in helping¹⁰ reunite Ivory Coast.

The outgoing ECOWAS chair, Niger's President Mamadou Tandja, urged African leaders, in his words, not to give way to weariness about Ivory Coast.

1 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 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。

5 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。