VOA标准英语2008年-Rice Vows to Pursue Israeli-Palestinian Peace A

By David Gollust
State Department
03 June 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday vowed¹ to continue pushing for an Israeli-Palestinian peace framework this year despite less than ideal circumstances. Rice spoke² prior to a Washington meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose hold on power has been shaken by a corruption³ scandal. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　

Condoleezza Rice addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) meeting in Washington, 03 Jun 2008

Rice, who has had five Middle East negotiating missions this year and is expected to make another soon, is vowing⁴ to press ahead with her quest for at least the outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord during the remainder of President Bush's term.

But in a speech Tuesday to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC - the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - Rice suggested that the goal might slip to the next U.S. administration.

At last November's Annapolis conference, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged "every effort" to conclude a peace agreement by the end of 2008.

In her AIPAC speech, Rice said a chance remains⁵ to reach an agreement on the "basic contours" of a two-state Middle East peace accord but said even that is an ambitious undertaking⁶.

"I know that this is ambitious," she said. "But if we can pursue this goal by the end of the year, it will be an historic breakthrough for people who believe in peace. The goal itself though will endure beyond the current U.S. leadership. I believe that the administration's approach to this problem will and must endure."

Rice spoke ahead of a private afternoon meeting with Mr. Olmert, who is also in Washington to address AIPAC and will meet President Bush Wednesday.

She made no specific mention of the problems facing the Israeli Prime Minister but said current conditions for peacemaking "are not perfect by any means."

Nonetheless, she said the present opportunity is better than any other in several years and needs to be seized. Rice is expected to go to the region in the middle of this month to prod⁷ the sides forward.

Rice vowed continued steadfast⁸ U.S. support for Israel to bolster⁹ its confidence for a peace process that will require concessions¹⁰, and in the face of threats from Iran, which she said continues to "inch closer to a nuclear weapon" despite claims of peaceful intent:

"Why, as the IAEA's most recent report shows, is Iran continuing to enrich uranium in violation¹¹ of U.N. Security Council resolutions? Why, as the IAEA also suggests, are parts of Iran's nuclear program under the control of the Iranian military? And why is Iran continuing to deny international experts full access to its nuclear facilities. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's just hard to imagine that there are innocent answers to these questions," said Rice.

Rice reiterated¹² a U.S. offer of open-ended dialogue with Iran if it stops its uranium enrichment drive, but said concerned nations including U.S. European allies need to rise to the challenge and tighten¹³ sanctions on Tehran if it refuses.

Alluding¹⁴ to anti-Israel rhetoric¹⁵ by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, she said a regime that denies the Holocaust¹⁶ and seeks to destroy a U.N. member state "should not be allowed to cross the nuclear threshold."

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

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 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。

4 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

7 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

8 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 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。

11 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

12 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

13 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

14 alluding   

提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He didn't mention your name but I was sure he was alluding to you. 他没提你的名字，但是我确信他是暗指你的。
• But in fact I was alluding to my physical deficiencies. 可我实在是为自己的容貌寒心。

15 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

16 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。