2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Says Iraqis Will Decide Their Own Future

By Scott Stearns
White House
21 August 2007

U.S. President George Bush says, despite Washington's frustration¹ with the slow pace of political progress in Iraq, it is up to Iraqis to decide the future of their government.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the president is responding to an influential² U.S. Senator who says Iraq's parliament should dismiss Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee says Mr. Maliki's government cannot achieve a political settlement, because it is too bound by its own sectarian prejudices.

Michigan Senator Carl Levin wants Iraq's parliament to remove Mr. Maliki's government, because he says it has "totally and utterly³ failed."

Speaking at a news conference, President Bush replied that it is up to the Iraqi people to determine the future of their government, not American politicians.

President Bush gestures as he responds to a question during the closing news conference at the North American Leaders Summit in Montebello, 21 Aug 2007

"The Iraqi people made a great step toward reconciliation⁴ when they passed the most modern constitution in the Middle East," said Mr. Bush.  "And now their government has got to perform. And I think there is a certain level of frustration with the leadership."

Responding to reporters' questions in Canada following a meeting with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, Mr. Bush said if Iraq's government does not respond to the demands of the people, the people will replace it.

Senator Levin, a Democrat⁵, visited Iraq with his committee's ranking Republican, Virginia Senator John Warner. In a written statement on Monday, both men said they told Iraqi leaders of the deep impatience⁶ of the American people and that time has run out on reaching a political consensus⁷ in Baghdad

The lack of political progress in Iraq has overshadowed some recent military accomplishments⁸. Senators Levin and Warner say U.S. reinforcements are having measurable results that are giving Iraqi leaders the opportunity to make political compromises. But the Senators say they are not optimistic about prospects⁹ for those compromises.

In talks with American and Iraqi diplomatic and military officials, the senators say they witnessed a "great deal of apprehension¹⁰ regarding the capabilities¹¹ of the current Iraqi government to shed its sectarian biases¹² and act in a unifying¹³ manner."

Demonstrating political progress in Iraq is crucial to the president's report to Congress next month. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and top military commander General David Petraeus will report on the impact of the president's January decision to send more troops to Iraq.

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

4 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。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

13 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。