VOA标准英语2008年-Rice Winds Up Mideast Visit With No Sign of Pro

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
16 June 2008

The United States' top diplomat¹ has concluded a peace mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories. But she has little to show for it, as we hear from Robert Berger at the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.
　

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, reads a statement after her meeting with Lebanese PM Fuad Saniora in Beirut, 16 Jun 2008

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wound up her visit by hosting a trilateral meeting with the Israeli defense² minister and Palestinian prime minister. But after two days of talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank there was no sign of progress in peace talks sponsored by the United States.

The headline of the visit was Rice's unusually harsh criticism of Israeli settlement expansion in disputed East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Rice did not speak to reporters before she left Israel. But on Sunday, she was clearly angry over Israeli plans to build 1,300 new homes in East Jerusalem, on land the Palestinians claim for their future capital.

"No party should be taking steps at this point that could prejudice the outcome of a negotiation³, and I want to make very clear that the United States will not consider these activities to affect any final status negotiations⁴ including final borders; these are to be negotiated between the parties," she said.

Israel says it has the right to build anywhere in Jerusalem because it will remain the capital of the Jewish state in any final peace agreement.

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev says there are differences but not a crisis.

"Success isn't guaranteed. There are a lot of sensitive issues on the table, but I can say that we in Israel, and I believe the Palestinian leadership too, are committed to doing the work that needs to be done," said Regev.

Palestinian analyst⁵ Mahdi Abdel Hadi is less optimistic. He says settlement activity is eroding⁶ support for the peace process.

"Israel is controlling the land and this is creating more hate and more frustration⁷, more anger among the Palestinians," said Hadi.

Disputes over settlements, Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem have put further doubt on the U.S. goal of a peace agreement by the end of the year.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 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。

3 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

4 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。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 eroding   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的现在分词 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The coast is slowly eroding. 海岸正慢慢地被侵蚀。
• Another new development is eroding the age-old stereotype of the male warrior. 另一个新现象是，久已形成的男人皆武士的形象正逐渐消失。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。