VOA常速英语2007年-White House Repeats Calls For Pakistan's Mushar

By Paula Wolfson
White House
14 November 2007

The White House says free and fair elections can not take place in Pakistan while the country is under emergency rule. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the United States is continuing to urge Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to lift the state of emergency he put in place November 3.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the Bush administration's stand has not changed - and General Musharraf's vow¹ to hold elections, while welcome, is not enough.

"We do not see how it is possible to have free and fair elections under emergency rule," said Perino. "You want to have emergency rule lifted so that people could protest peacefully or that they could campaign and so that a free media can cover the election as we do here."

During a session with reporters, Perino stressed the importance of continued U.S. engagement with all parties in Pakistan. She reiterated² they must work together to get the country back on the path to democracy as soon as possible.

"We want to have a long-term relationship with this country," said Perino. "In the past we have waffled on that and it has not served us well. We lost contact with an entire generation of Pakistani military leaders."

"We need to get back in the business of making sure that we do not just walk away from a country because they made a mistake. We need to help work with them to unite moderate forces so that they can have the democracy that they started to have over the last several years," she added.

Perino was then asked about the break down in negotiations³ between General Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who has called for his resignation.

The White House spokeswoman acknowledged tensions are high in Pakistan, but emphasized the situation remains⁴ very fluid.

"We understand that when they have feelings that people express them and we would hope that people would be able to work together in Pakistan," she said. "We will just have to wait and see. The situation on the ground is evolving very rapidly."

Perino said there is a real need for all factions⁵ to establish open lines of dialogue, enabling the country to return to constitutional rule. The White House spokeswoman said what the United States wants to see in Pakistan - a central ally in the war on terror - is moderation, democracy, stability and the prosperity that comes with it.

1 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

2 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

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 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