voa标准英语2008-Pakistani, Afghan, Turkish Presidents Pledge Coo

The Presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey have pledged to increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism, during talks held in Istanbul Friday. Turkey hosted the talks as part of an ongoing¹ initiative to improve long strained relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But, the terror attacks in Mumbai cast a shadow over the proceedings².
　

Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, (l), Abdullah Gul of Turkey and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, (r), shake hands after a press conference in Istanbul, 5 Dec. 2008

In a joint³ declaration the Presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey committed themselves to strengthening their efforts against what they called the scourge⁴ of terrorism. The statement followed a day of talks aimed at developing initiatives to enhance bi-lateral relations and co-operation.

Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have been strained in recent years over the issue of Pakistan's northwestern tribal⁵ regions being used as a base for Taliban fighters seeking to overthrowing⁶ the Afghan government.

But Indian accusations⁷ that a terrorist group based in Pakistan was responsible for the recent Mumbai attack dominated the joint news conference held at the end of the talks on Friday. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari sought to stress the positive.

"Our position is that we've always been and we still are the victims of terrorism and I have read these reports, Pakistan is currently doing its own internal investigation⁸ and is waiting for concrete proof to be handed over to us for further investigation into the matter," he said.

The Indian government is calling on Pakistan to extradite a number of Pakistanis who are alleged⁹ to have been involved in attacks against India. But a senior Pakistani official said India has to providdORIAe evidence to support its demand before Islamabad would consider such a request.

All three presidents at Friday's meeting condemned¹⁰ the Mumbai attacks. Fighting terrorism according to Turkish president Abdullah Gul was a central part of the one day of talks and he said significant progress had been achieved.

Mr. Gul says what was decided¹¹ today is not just mutual¹² declarations but concrete institutional methods have been devised between the three countries.

The meeting is the second of its kind organized by Turkey aimed at easing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Turkey has historical close ties with both countries. Afghan president Hamid Karzai says he made progress with his Pakistani counterpart.

"Since President Zedari's election to the presidency¹³ of Pakistan, cooperation the contact between the two leaders of the two countries has been extremely well," he said. "The two foreign ministers of the two countries have met and have decided to draw a joint strategy to fight terrorism al Qaida and other terrorist organizations."

Further meeting between the presidents are expected to be held in Pakistan.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

13 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。