VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Arrives in Middle East

By Paula Wolfson
Jerusalem
09 January 2008

President Bush has arrived in Israel - the first stop on a Middle East journey designed to bolster¹ the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and foster unity² on Iran. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush immediately went to work, following a formal arrival ceremony at Israel's main airport.

Israel's leaders were waiting at Ben Gurion Airport, as Air Force One taxied to a stop.

They formed a long welcoming line as George W. Bush set foot on Israeli soil for the first time in his presidency³.

He spoke⁴ of the strong ties between the United States and Israel. He says the source of that strength is a shared belief in the power of human freedom.

"We will do more than defend ourselves. We will seek lasting⁵ peace. We see a new opportunity for peace here in the Holy Land and for freedom across the region," said Mr. Bush.

Like President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert kept his comments at the arrival ceremony broad in nature, avoiding any direct reference to issues related to the peace process.

"From the very beginning, your policies have reflected a basic understanding of the challenges facing Israel in this troubled region and a solid commitment to our national security," he said.

It fell to Israeli President Shimon Peres, Israel's largely ceremonial head of state, to offer some tough talk. He said President Bush is right to urge the world to pay attention to the threat posed by Iran.

"We take your advice not to underestimate the Iranian threat. Iran should not underestimate our resolve for self-defense," said Peres.

President Bush, Prime Minister Olmert and President Peres wasted no time getting down to business - launching talks shortly after the arrival ceremony.

Thursday, President Bush will travel from Jerusalem on to Ramallah, the West Bank headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, to meet separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

At a meeting in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas agreed to begin negotiations⁶ on the thorniest⁷ issues blocking a peace agreement. Among them: the borders of a future Palestinian state, competing claims to Jerusalem, and the status of Palestinian refugees.

Concerns about rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza and Israeli settlement activity have created tensions since the American-led Annapolis Mideast conference in November. President Bush is expected to use his trip to encourage both sides to look at the big picture and keep focused on the need for peace.

During the flight to Israel, White House National Security Advisor⁸ Stephen Hadley told reporters traveling with the president that Mr. Bush is not coming to the Middle East to interject himself into the negotiations. He said, instead, the president wants both sides to stay focused, and look beyond what he called "a lot of distractions⁹."

Hadley also talked about the recent incident involving Iranian vessels¹⁰ and U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf¹¹. He said Iran must be careful and realize there will be consequences to bear if they again menace American boats in international waters.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 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。

7 thorniest   

adj.多刺的( thorny的最高级 )；有刺的；棘手的；多障碍的

参考例句：

• Paradoxically, the thorniest outstanding issue involves Bolivia. 而荒谬可笑的是，最棘手的国家要事却牵涉到了玻利维亚。 来自互联网

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。