VOA标准英语2009年-Envoys Continue Negotiations at UN on Cessation

Foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, France and the Arab League met separately and together behind closed doors at the United Nations Wednesday, seeking an end to nearly two weeks of deadly fighting in the Gaza Strip. After hours of talks, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters that there "is still work to do" to reach a consensus¹.
　

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the U.N. Security Council, 07 Jan 2009

The U.S., British and French foreign ministers said they would stay in New York for a third day to lead Western efforts at finding a cessation of hostilities² between Israel and Hamas militants³.

Following an evening meeting with Arab foreign ministers, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke⁴ briefly⁵ to reporters. "We believe there is still work to do. [French Foreign] Minister [Bernard] Kouchner, [British] Foreign Secretary [David] Miliband and I are extending our stays and we still believe there is work to do," she said.

Arab ministers leaving the meeting echoed her response.

The Security Council remains⁶ split over two possible responses to halt Israel's military incursion into the Gaza Strip to silence Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel.

One option is a legally-binding U.N. resolution demanding an "immediate⁷ and permanent cease-fire" and the lifting of Israel's blockade on Gaza put forth⁹ by council-member Libya on behalf of the Arabs. The other option is a weaker, non-binding statement, drafted by France, the United States and Britain, that emphasizes that a "durable¹⁰ cease-fire will require arrangements and guarantees", including preventing the smuggling¹¹ of weapons to the militants and the reopening of border crossings.

French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, whose country holds the council's rotating presidency¹² this month, said all 15 members want to work toward a unanimous position but they are not there yet. "There is no unanimity¹³ today on either of those texts and because we want to go forward in a common approach we have decided¹⁴ to continue our talks and negotiations¹⁵."

Diplomats¹⁶ close to the discussions say there is some convergence on the substance, but not yet on the form it will take.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has put forth his own initiative, offering to mediate⁸ between the Israeli and Palestinian sides in Cairo as soon as possible.

But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters that Israel has so far only agreed to send a high-level technical team to Cairo. "They [the Israelis] have been indicating willingness or that it is a positive step. But there is not yet a clear cut recognition and acceptance," he said.

The United States, Britain, France and the Arab ministers will resume their negotiations Thursday morning.

1 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

2 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 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。

5 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

6 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。

7 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。

8 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 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。

11 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。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 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。

16 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》