VOA标准英语2008年-Bush in Kuwait for Talks on Middle East Securit

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
11 January 2008

U.S. President George W. Bush is in Kuwait, the next stop on his visit to the Middle East. He spent three days in Israel and the Palestinian territories, trying to advance the peace process. His secretary of state says, as he tours the Gulf¹ states, the agenda will turn more toward regional security issues and Iran. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

President Bush met with Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. White House officials said the Kuwaiti ruler thanked the president for pushing for solutions on critical Middle East issues.

The president's tour of the Gulf states over the next few days is expected to focus on Iran, which has recently begun warming relations with the Gulf Arab nations that are traditional allies of the United States. Mr. Bush will also continue to try to build support for his Middle East peace initiative launched in Maryland in November.

On the plane from Jerusalem to Kuwait City, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters the agenda would be shifting toward regional challenges, including both Sunni and Shiite extremism and "the threats that we've seen in the Gulf."

Kuwaiti media have said the Emir would emphasize his concern that any U.S. military strike on Iran would destabilize the region.

Rice also said it is unrealistic to expect Arab states to quickly warm to Israel as the post-Annapolis peace negotiations² continue. She said there will be no "blinding flash" of change, but she sees the process as moving forward. She believes it was "a big step" for Arab states to attend the Annapolis conference.

Before leaving Jerusalem, Mr. Bush visited Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust³ memorial. He re-lit a memorial flame and placed a wreath over a stone slab⁴ covering the ashes of concentration camp victims.

Mr. Bush said Yad Vashem is a sobering reminder⁵ that evil exists and must be resisted.

"I was most impressed that people in the face of horror and evil would not forsake⁶ their God, and in the face of unspeakable crimes against humanity, brave souls - young and old - stood strong for what they believe," he said.

While in Kuwait, Mr. Bush is expected to be briefed on the latest developments in Iraq by the U.S. Ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, and the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, General David Petraus. Mr. Bush then visits Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt before leaving the region next week.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。