VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton in Morocco for Talks on Middle Eas

By Scott Stearns
Marrakech
01 November 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Morocco for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Middle East and the world's leading industrialized nations. They will discuss democracy in the region and ways to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) is greeted by her Moroccan counterpart Taib Fassi Fihri upon her arrival at Marrakech airport, 01 Nov 2009
Secretary Clinton came to Marrakech for the sixth Forum¹ for the Future, which joins civil society groups and the private sector² with foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations and the Middle East to talk about democracy and resolving conflict in the region.

The Israeli/Palestinian crisis is high on the agenda. Clinton met separately with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on her way to Morocco.

President Abbas says the Palestinian Authority will not return to talks on a two-state solution unless Israel first halts the expansion of Jewish settlements in disputed areas.

Clinton says the settlement issue should not block further talks.

In a news conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, she called his offer to limit that expansion "unprecedented³."

"There has never been a precondition," said Clinton. "It has always been an issue within the negotiations⁴. What the Prime Minister has offered, in specifics of restraint on the policy of settlements which he has just described, no new starts, for example - is unprecedented, in the context of prior to negotiations."

Palestinian leaders say the Obama administration is allowing Israel to sidestep conditions in a 2003 agreement calling for a freeze of all settlement activity, not simply the restraint that Prime Minister Netanyahu is offering.

"So from our point of view and from the point of view of the international law, and according to the Roadmap, Israel has to first to stop the expansion of settlements in order to contribute to preparing the ground for meaningful peace negotiations," said Ghassan al-Khatib, who heads the Palestinian government's press office.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly says Clinton and U.S. Special Envoy⁵ George Mitchell hope to use this meeting in Morocco to get Israeli and Palestinian officials back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

"She plans to consult with foreign ministers from the region at that time. Also, Special Envoy Mitchell will go back to the region," said Kelly. "So we do call on everyone to lower the rhetoric⁶, to avoid situations that enflame the situation. And everybody should keep their eyes on the goal here of a comprehensive peace, and to get there we have to get the two sides to the point where they can sit down and have meaningful negotiations."

Morocco is jointly⁷ hosting this forum with Italy, which holds the rotating G-8 presidency⁸. The two day meeting will focus on improving human development, democracy, rule of law, and economic growth.

The talks include representatives from the West Bank and Gaza as well as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Libya. Officials from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are also expected to participate alongside G-8 delegations⁹ from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

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 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 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。

7 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

8 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。

9 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法