VOA常速英语2007年-Annapolis Conference Launches Israeli-Palestini

By David Gollust
Annapolis
27 November 2007

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed Tuesday to seek a final-status peace accord by the end of next year - ending a seven year impasse¹. The parties, making the announcement at the U.S.-organized Annapolis conference, said the United States will monitor the process. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet separately with President Bush in Washington on Wednesday. VOA's David Gollust reports from the conference site at the U.S. Naval² Academy in Annapolis.

The announcement of the commitment to seek a peace accord by the end of President Bush's term in office came in a surprise addition to Mr. Bush's opening address to the conference.

Sharing the stage at the Naval Academy with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Bush read a joint³ statement by the principals pledging "vigorous, ongoing⁴ and continuing" negotiations⁵ for a two-state settlement of the conflict by the end of 2008.

The parties set up a steering⁶ committee to oversee⁷ the process that will begin its work December 12, to be supported by regular twice-monthly meetings by the two leaders.

They also committed to implement⁸ all their obligations under the largely unfilled 2003 peace road map of the international Middle East quartet - made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations . They said the United States will oversee the process.

In his address to the gathering⁹ of nearly 50 countries and international organizations, President Bush said the time is right for the peace-making drive because both sides have leaders determined¹⁰ to achieve peace and combat terrorism.

"A battle is under way for the future of the Middle East, and we must not cede¹¹ victory to the extremists," said President Bush. "With their violent actions and contempt for human life, the extremists are seeking to impose a dark vision on the Palestinian people, a vision that feeds on hopelessness and despair to sow chaos¹² on the Holy Land. If this vision prevails, the future of the region will be endless terror, endless war and endless suffering."

The policy statements of the two principals underlined the difficulty of the task ahead for negotiators.

President Abbas said Palestinians will insist on having the capital of their state in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and on a resolution of all aspects of the problem of Palestinian refugees.

Mr. Abbas promised Palestinians a peace settlement that will give them independence and self-determination, and put them, he said, on equal terms will all other peoples of the world.

"Each one of you has his own her own personal pain, personal tragedy as a result of this conflict and as a result of the years of tragedy and occupation," said President Abbas. "These are very bitter years. Don't be depressed¹³, don't lose confidence and hope, for the whole world today now is stretching its hand towards us in order to help us put and end to our tragedy, to our holocaust¹⁴ that has been running for too long."

Prime Minister Olmert, said Israel is not indifferent to the tragedies Palestinians have experienced, and that the envisaged¹⁵ negotiations will produce a "proper framework" for dealing¹⁶ with the refugee question as well all the other outstanding issues of the peace process.

"The negotiations will address all the issues which we have thus far avoided dealing with," said Prime Minister Olmert. "We do this directly, openly and courageously¹⁷. We will not avoid any subject. We will deal with all the core issues. I am convinced that the reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly. This will be an extremely difficult process for many of us, but it is nevertheless inevitable¹⁸."

The conference included many Arab countries, among them Saudi Arabia and Syria, that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Mr. Olmert urged them to stop, as he put it, "watching the peace train go by" and end their boycott¹⁹ of Israel.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, a key participant, joined in polite applause for the Olmert remarks though an aide said he would not shake hands with Israeli delegates, saying he was attending for reasons of substance and not "theatrics."

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

7 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 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。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

14 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

15 envisaged   

想像，设想( envisage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He envisaged an old age of loneliness and poverty. 他面对着一个孤独而贫困的晚年。
• Henry Ford envisaged an important future for the motor car. 亨利·福特为汽车设想了一个远大前程。

16 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

17 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

18 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

19 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。