2007年VOA标准英语-Donor's Pledge Billions for Rebuilding Lebanon

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
25 January 2007

Lebanon's embattled government received a generous boost Thursday when donors² meeting in Paris pledged more than $7.5 billion in assistance, including loans. Lisa Bryant has more on the meeting for VOA from the French capital.

 
A general view during the Paris conference to raise funds for Lebanon, 25 Jan 2007
Saudi Arabia pledged the biggest chunk³ of money - $1 billion in development funding, along with another $100 million grant to the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. But pledges kept rolling in Thursday, as representatives from more than 30 nations met at a donors' conference in Paris.

France, which is hosting the conference, pledged $650 million in loans to Lebanon, which is staggering under a massive, $40 billion public debt. The European Union separately pledged $649 million in loans and aid. And the United States has announced plans to triple its economic aid to Lebanon, to $770 million in new assistance.

 
Condoleezza Rice with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, speaks to the media
At a news conference in Paris with Prime Minister Siniora and American business leaders, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rebuffed suggestions the aid was specifically designed to shore up Siniora's government, which is facing serious challenges from the Lebanese opposition⁴. But, she said, it comes with some conditions.

"Clearly, this is a package that is for Lebanon and that is extremely important to understand. Lebanon is a democracy. That said, Lebanon is also undertaking⁵ some important economic reforms that are critical to making any of this work. And it's not unusual that donors would expect that those reforms are going to continue as the donor¹ community responds to the needs," said Rice.

The donors are competing against the dollars being handed out to ordinary Lebanese by the Lebanon-based militia⁶ group Hezbollah. They are also contending with alleged⁷ interference in Lebanon by Iran and Syria and the larger backdrop of violence in the Middle Eastern nation. Hezbollah representatives were not invited to the Paris conference.

 
Jacques Chirac gives a speech during the conference on international aid for Lebanon, 25 Jan 2007
As he opened Thursday's meeting, French President Jacques Chirac recalled the ongoing⁸ unrest - which included fresh clashes Thursday between pro- and anti-government factions⁹.

President Chirac said the dramatic events in Lebanon underscore the absolute necessity for the Lebanese state to affirm its authority across all its territory, as a sovereign and independent state. Today, he said, the aim of the international community is to give Lebanon every chance to modernize¹⁰ in the long term.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 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

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

10 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。