2007年VOA标准英语-US Defense Secretary to Meet Iraqi Leaders

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
20 April 2007

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates is in Baghdad Friday for meetings with top Iraqi leaders. From northern Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer reports he will be delivering a message that that they must move faster on reconciliation² legislation because American patience is limited.

Robert Gates arrives at Camp Falluja, 19 Apr 2007

The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Iraq Thursday, after visiting several other countries in the region. It is his third trip to Iraq since he took up his post four months ago.

His visit is intended to urge Iraqi leaders to press ahead with efforts to reconcile the country's bitterly divided Shiite and Sunni communities and to push through legislation on the sharing of oil revenues among Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds.

Gates told reporters Thursday that he knows it will be difficult, but they must make every effort to pass the legislation quickly.

"I am sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face, but by the same token, to pick up General Petraeus' theme, the clock is ticking," he said.

On Thursday, Gates met top U.S. commanders at a military base near the western city of Fallujah, in the volatile³ al-Anbar province, and discussed the recent high-profile bomb attacks in Baghdad that have killed more than 200 people since Wednesday.

 

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said the Wednesday bombings were a setback⁴ that came just as he thought the new Baghdad Security Plan was starting to take hold.

"A day like that can have a real psychological impact," the general said. "And it came at a time where, frankly⁵, (Lieutenant) General (Ray) Odierno (his deputy) and I, and a lot of the other leaders in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, have felt that we were getting a bit of traction⁶. You know it's very, it's almost imperceptible at times, but that there was slow progress with the Baghdad security plan and in some other parts of the country as well."

U.S. military officials point to the overall decrease in sectarian executions as one sign of progress, but concede that high-profile bombings continue to pose a challenge.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。