VOA标准英语2009年-US Wants Gaza Deal on Rockets, Tunnels, Crossin

The Bush administration said it is pushing for a Gaza agreement that will end Hamas rocket fire into Israel, arms smuggling¹ through tunnels from Egypt, and re-open Gaza crossing points for relief supplies and commerce. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - who canceled foreign travel plans - is leading U.S. diplomatic efforts.
　

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 02 Jan 2009

Officials here said that while the United States supports an end to the fighting as soon as possible, it also wants a cease-fire arrangement that will be more durable² than its failed predecessor³ and deal with the core problems of Gaza.

The administration has drawn⁴ international criticism for, among other things, resisting Arab-led cease-fire efforts in the U.N. Security Council that urged an immediate⁵ end to the fighting, but which U.S. officials said failed to adequately address Hamas rocket firing.
　

President George W. Bush meets with Sudan's First Vice6 President Salva Kiir in Washington, 05 Jan 2009

At a White House photo session with Sudanese Vice President and southern Sudan regional leader Salva Kiir Mayardit, President Bush said a truce⁷ arrangement must stop Hamas rocket fire once and for all:

"All of us of course would like to see violence stop, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again. I know people are saying: let us have a cease-fire, and those are noble ambitions. But any cease-fire must have conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets," he said.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack provided additional information on U.S. diplomatic aims.

He said in telephone diplomacy⁸, Secretary Rice is seeking a three-pronged accord that would end Hamas rocket fire, deal with the tunnels from Egypt through which Hamas has been getting smuggled⁹ arms, and fully¹⁰ reopen Gaza crossings to address the dire¹¹ humanitarian¹² conditions in the strip and eventually restore normal economic life.

McCormack said a crossings accord would be based on the one Rice negotiated in 2005, but which was never fully implemented¹³. That element would presumably appeal to Hamas, which has framed its rocket fire as an act of resistance because Israel has refused to end its Gaza blockade.
　

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack

The spokesman suggested that international monitoring provisions of the 2005 movement and crossings accord could be strengthened.

"There are a lot of different ways to come at this. In terms of the crossings, there is a provision in there for monitors-the Palestinian Authority working with EU monitors. And for some time that was working quite well on the Rafah crossing [between Gaza and Egypt]. And again, that can serve as a model for reopening those crossings. But again, all these pieces have to fit together," he said.

McCormack said Rice had had 17 telephone conversations with foreign officials since Saturday, mainly European Union counterparts though there also were two conversations Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, whose government has been a go-between with Hamas.

The spokesman said Rice has no travel plans in connection with the Gaza crisis. Sunday she canceled what was to have been her final trip abroad as Secretary of State, instead sending her deputy John Negroponte to inaugurate the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad, and to attend an observance in Beijing of the 30th anniversary of full U.S. relations with mainland China.

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

3 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

13 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句