VOA标准英语2008年-France's Sarkozy Pledges Support for Lebanon's

By Edward Yeranian
Beirut
07 June 2008

French President Nicholas Sarkozy became the first Western leader to visit Lebanon since the election of the country's new president, Michel Suleiman, two weeks ago, putting an end to months of political crisis, as Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Beirut.
　

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, right, listens as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 7 June 2008

A Lebanese Army band played the French national anthem¹, while an honor guard gave a 21-gun salute² to French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who is on a one-day visit aimed at promoting national unity³ in the country following a deadly political crisis.

The country's pro-Western ruling party recently agreed to form a national unity government with the Hezbollah-backed opposition⁴. The agreement calls for a 30-member Cabinet that gives Hezbollah veto power over government decisions.

Mr. Sarkozy told the gathering⁵ of Lebanon's political leaders that it was time for reconciliation⁶, and time to move forward:

There has been too much suffering in Lebanon, too many catastrophes⁷ and too many people have died, he says. But now is the time to look to the future, a future that must be one of dialogue, where every Lebanese will be represented.

Mr. Sarkozy went on to say that the agreement in Doha, Qatar, was a major accomplishment⁸ which "improved the situation," but that "all sides must now implement⁹ their commitments through dialogue."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was also part of the French delegation¹⁰. Kouchner tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a deal to end Lebanon's lengthy¹¹ political crisis, last December, but was unsuccessful.

The pro-Syrian Hezbollah took control of parts of Beirut, last month, in a show of force which ultimately ended in a political agreement allowing the election of Army Commander Michel Suleiman as president, and giving Hezbollah a minority veto inside the next Lebanese government.

Lebanon's last President, Emile Lahoud, ended his term on November 24 without the election of a successor, and the legitimacy¹² of acting¹³ Prime Minister Fouad Saniora was contested by Hezbollah.

Paul Salem, Director of the Carnegie Center for the Middle East, thinks that France has increased its' prestige in the region with Sarkozy's initiative, which includes improving ties with Syria, as well:

"Sarkozy after having failed in the initial mediating¹⁴ attempts, where France was trying to really get in and regain¹⁵ a role with Syria and Lebanon, last year… in the end, Qatar was able to pull the rabbit out of the hat," said Salem. "But it's interesting that the French president, despite that is now reviving France's interest, France's activity, here, with a very high delegation. Obviously, a lot of it is very straight-forward - support for the new president, support for the new government, and the new status quo in Lebanon - and it is being coupled with an enthusiasm for Syria, and trying to encourage Syria to go along the path of sort of normalization¹⁶ of relations with Lebanon, the idea of opening an embassy, as well as encouraging the Syrian move towards Turkey towards contemplating¹⁷ peace with Israel."

The Arab daily Asharqalawsat reported last week that France has invited Syrian President Bashar al Assad to visit Paris, in July, after his cooperation in facilitating the recent Doha agreement.

Syria was the former top power broker¹⁸ in Lebanon, before it withdrew its troops from the country after the assassination¹⁹ of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al Hariri in 2005. Many of Lebanon's top leaders accuse Syria of playing a role in the killing²⁰, something Damascus has consistently denied.

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

8 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

15 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

16 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

17 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

18 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

19 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

20 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。