VOA常速英语2008年-Rice Says Peace Talks on Track for Deal by Year

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
31 March 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up a three-day trip to the Middle East saying peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians are moving forward, but Israel needs to stop its settlement activities. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Condoleezza Rice ended three days of talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders saying Israeli-Palestinian negotiations¹ are on track to produce a peace deal by the end of the year. Rice spoke² at a news conference in Amman, Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

 

"I know that your teams have a lot of hard work ahead of them, but I have to say that I find very impressive the work that is being done and the seriousness of the process, and I think it is all moving in the right direction," she said. 

In one of her strongest comments on the issue, Rice also called for Israel to stop building settlements on land it seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

"As to settlement activity, we continue to state America's position that settlement activity should stop - that its expansion should stop," said Rice.

In his remarks, Mr. Abbas said he also fully³ expects to reach a peace agreement with Israel by the end of this year.

Mr. Abbas says he is optimistic about reaching a deal because of what he says is the personal involvement of President Bush in the process, and because Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are working extremely hard to deal with the core issues of the conflict. Mr. Abbas says he will meet with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on April 7.

Earlier, Secretary Rice met with Israeli leaders and with the heads of the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem municipality unveiled plans to build 600 new homes in a West Bank settlement on the outskirts⁴ of the city.

A key coalition⁵ partner in the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the religious Shas Party, also announced it had received approval from Mr. Olmert to build an additional 800 homes in an East Jerusalem neighborhood.

Following his talks with Secretary Rice, Mr. Olmert said that Israel will continue to build in East Jerusalem neighborhoods it intends to keep in an eventual⁶ peace deal with the Palestinians.

"The settlement issue is one of the core issues that are being negotiated as we speak here. This is one of the core issues to the conflict that is being negotiated. I would say the following; this government has done more than any previous Israeli government to bring under control settlement construction in the West Bank," said Mark Regev, Mr. Olmert's spokesman.

A report from the Israeli activist⁷ group Peace Now says Israel has approved the construction of 1,700 new homes in the West Bank since last November's Annapolis, Maryland Mideast Peace conference.

Meanwhile, Israeli military authorities dismantled⁸ a key checkpoint that restricted access to the West Bank city of Jericho.

On Sunday Israeli authorities pledged to take down about 50 roadblocks in the West Bank and ease restrictions⁹ for some Palestinians who need to pass through Israeli-controlled territory. In return Palestinians agreed to boost security measures to control militancy¹⁰ in the West Bank.

1 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。

2 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。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。