VOA标准英语2008年-Bush in Israel to Start Middle East Trip

By Scott Stearns
Jerusalem
14 May 2008

President Bush is in Israel to begin a five-day trip to the Middle East. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the president is hoping for progress on efforts to resolve the Israeli - Palestinian dispute.

An Israeli military honor guard welcomed the president and Mrs. Bush to Tel Aviv. He is here to help celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary and hopes to encourage faltering¹ talks on the creation of a separate Palestinian state.

White House officials say the president is still optimistic that the outline of such a state can be concluded before he leaves office in January.

Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Mr. Bush in Jerusalem and said some of the obstacles to peace may soon fade.

"I think before you leave office you will see a change of guards here in the Middle East. What looks today so gloomy may be the last effort of some very extremist groups to remain alive," he said.

President Peres sees the decline of the militant² group Hezbollah, which he says is destroying neighboring Lebanon, and Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip and Mr. Peres says is postponing³ the creation of a Palestinian state.

President Bush says a separate state would give Palestinians a choice between more violence under Hamas and a more stable future under Fatah, which controls the West Bank.

"We will continue to work toward a vision where people who are just reasonable and want a chance to live at peace with Israel have that opportunity, and at the same time speak clearly about the forces of terror who murder innocent people to achieve their political objectives and how the world must stand against them," said Mr. Bush.

Nathan Brown directs Middle East studies at George Washington University. He says a divided Palestinian authority is blocking progress toward a separate state because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas does not speak for all Palestinians.

"There simply is not a unified⁴ viable⁵, Palestinian leadership, so how do you make a deal if there is nobody who can really sign on the dotted line delivering the Palestinian side," said Brown.

Progress toward a two-state solution is also slowed by the political weakness of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who is currently under investigation⁶ for political corruption⁷.

The prime minister denies the allegations and says he will resign if indicted⁸.

"His political obituary⁹ has been written many times before and it is premature¹⁰ to conclude that he will be forced from office," said John Alterman, who directs the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a public policy research group in Washington. "But it is a fantasy to think that Ehud Olmert can make difficult and far-reaching diplomatic concessions¹¹ when his political survival is under severe threat. In fact, the incentives¹² are for Olmert to make apparent progress for peace, but not to conclude a peace deal that would alienate¹³ vital supporters."

White House officials do not expect any major breakthroughs on this trip but argue there has been halting progress between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators since they resumed talks following the president's Middle East summit in the United States last November.

Mr. Bush will meet separately with President Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. During this trip, he will also meet with Saudi King Abdallah, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jordanian King Abdullah, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

1 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

6 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。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

9 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

12 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。