VOA常速英语2008年-McCain Committed to Mideast Peace Process

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
19 March 2008

U.S. Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee¹, is touring Israel and meeting with Israeli leaders as part of his Mideast tour that has taken him to Iraq and Jordan. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, McCain, who will also visit France and Great Britain, says he is committed to the Mideast peace process.

John McCain received a warm welcome in Israel. Many Israelis support his tough stand against Iran's nuclear-enrichment program, and he has a long record in the U.S. Congress of support for the state of Israel.

McCain, who is all but certain to be the Republican Party's candidate for the presidency² this year, met with Israel's prime minister, foreign minister and defense³ minister who gave him a personal tour of the southern Israeli city of Sderot, which has been battered⁴ by rockets fired by Palestinian militants⁵ from the nearby Gaza Strip.

McCain strongly criticized Hamas militants who control Gaza, saying they are dedicated⁶ to destroying everything Israel and the West believe in. He says his talks with Israeli leaders focused on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations⁷, and on the threat to Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah.

"The state of negotiations, particularly the continued Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, Hamas etc. So we look forward to discussing these issues, and we look forward to affirming as literally⁸ every visitor to this country has, our deep and abiding⁹ relationship and commitment to the state of Israel," said McCain.

The Arizona Senator was accompanied by his close Senate colleagues, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The three senators say their trip was for fact-finding, but their visit to Israel will likely help John McCain with Jewish voters in the United States, and with Christian¹⁰ evangelicals, many of whom are strong supporters of Israel.

While he met with Israel's leaders, Senator McCain did not travel to the West Bank to meet with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying instead he and Mr. Abbas spoke¹¹ by telephone. McCain said he told Mr. Abbas he strongly supports his efforts to reach a peace agreement with Israel, saying if elected President he will make such an agreement a top priority of his administration.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 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。

3 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。

4 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 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。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 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。