2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Assures Haitian Prime Minister of Continue

By David Gollust
State Department
04 April 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged continued U.S. political and economic support for Haiti at a meeting Wednesday with the impoverished¹ Caribbean country's prime minister, Jacques-Edouard Alexis. Mr. Alexis reported progress in curbing² violence in Haiti. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Condoleezza Rice (r) and Jacques-Edouard Alexis at the State Department in Washington, 4 Apr 2007

The upheaval³ in Haiti that led to the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 chased away most of the foreign investment that had buoyed⁴ the country's economy after the restoration of democracy a decade earlier.

But the Haitian prime minister says his government, backed by the U.N. stabilization⁵ force MINUSTAH, is making headway in curbing violence and crime, and is promising⁶ returning investors⁷ a favorable climate for business.

At a news appearance with Secretary Rice following talks here, Mr. Alexis claimed "significant results" in recent months on improving security and on economic fundamentals. The Haitian official said the task now is to raise the income of Haitians through jobs and investment:

"That's why we're asking our partners in the United States to help Haiti get back in business," said Jacques-Edouard Alexis. "I can say for sure that greater and greater efforts will be made in order for American corporations to come and do business in Haiti. And for that we'll create a regulatory and security environment that will be attractive to investment."

Secretary Rice said the Bush administration has earmarked $200 million for aid to Haiti for the current fiscal⁸ year, on top of the more than $600 million provided since 2004, calling it an expression of U.S. confidence that Haiti will overcome what she termed its "historic challenges."

She stressed a $20-million U.S. aid initiative beginning this month targeting the most impoverished and crime-ridden areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince:

"We will make certain that a good deal of that money goes to very dangerous, still dangerous, places like the Cite Soliel, which we hope will give to those people a sense of hope, a sense of a future, so that they can turn away from dangerous pursuits and toward education, jobs and a better life," said Condoleezza Rice.

Both Rice and the Haitian prime minister hailed an initiative announced during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Washington visit late last week under which Brazil and the United States will work with Haiti and other Caribbean states on biofuels projects.

President Bush, in his meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, stressed U.S. appreciation⁹ for Brazil's lead role in the 9,000 - member U.N. stabilization force, which has been in Haiti for nearly three years.

1 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

3 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

4 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。