VOA常速英语2007年-Rice Calls on Israel to Take Bold Steps for Pea

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
04 November 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Israelis to take bold steps for peace following talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

This is Secretary Rice's third trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in the past six weeks, and her eighth trip to the region this year. Speaking to a gathering¹ of the Saban Forum² policy institute in Jerusalem she warned that extremism is gaining in the Middle East, making a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians imperative³.

"If the Palestinians are losing hope, especially among the young, we have a great danger before us," said Condoleezza Rice. "The prolonged experience of deprivation⁴ and humiliation⁵ can radicalize even normal people. We have all heard the stories and read the reports, but what is different now is the context. My fear is that if Palestinian reformers can not deliver on the hope of an independent state then the moderate center could collapse⁶ forever. The next generation of Palestinians could become lost souls of unbridled extremism."

Speaking at the same event, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he believed real progress can be made toward the establishment of a Palestinian state in the remaining year of the Bush administration.

However earlier, Mr. Olmert's negotiator with the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said while preliminary talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians were taking place in a good atmosphere, there are problems with trying to reach agreement on a set of principles before a U.S. -sponsored Mideast peace summit planned for later this month.

"Basically we are just at the beginning of the process and the dialogue, and there is a need to understand that while we need to find common ground with pragmatic leaders, they need to understand that the implementation⁷ of future understandings will be implemented⁸ only according to the phases of the road map," said Tzipi Livni. "The meaning is security to Israel first, and then the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Under the terms of the internationally backed road map peace plan, Palestinians are to stop attacks against Israel while Israelis are to halt settlement building in the West Bank.

Rice meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, but he and his negotiators say her diplomatic efforts will not be credible⁹ until some sort of deadline is set for final status talks aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state - something Israel says it is not ready to do at this time.

Israel is negotiating only with President Abbas who controls the West Bank. Hamas leaders who control the Gaza Strip refuse to recognize Israel and have condemned¹⁰ the planned peace conference.

Also speaking at the Saban Forum was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be written out on two sheets of paper. However Mr. Blair, who is now an official Mideast peace envoy¹¹, said while the solution is clear, the problem of mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians remains¹² unresolved.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

4 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

5 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 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。