VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says Washington Following Through

By Scott Stearns
Marrakech, Morocco
03 November 2009

 
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers her speech at the opening of the World Policy Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, 03 Nov 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Washington is following through on promises made by President Barack Obama in a June speech to the Muslim world. Clinton met foreign ministers from the Middle East and North Africa at a democracy and development conference in Morocco.

Secretary Clinton says many people who heard President Obama's Cairo speech five months ago asked how his vision for a new understanding between the United States and the Muslim world would translate into meaningful changes in people's everyday lives.

"It is results not rhetoric¹ that matter in the end. Economic empowerment, education, health care, access to energy and to credit - these are the basics that all communities need to thrive. And the United States seeks to pursue these common aspirations² through concrete actions," she said.

Clinton spoke³ in Morocco at a democracy and development conference called the Forum⁴ for the Future, which joins foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations with officials from North Africa and the Middle East.

She says Washington is delivering on President Obama's promises by helping⁵ local communities develop long-lasting solutions and not by focusing on one-time projects. Clinton says the biggest concern everywhere in the world is the economy: How can people get better jobs to give their children more opportunities?

"There are so many good ideas that die because the conditions are not right for bringing those ideas to market," said Clinton. "There are so many people who work so hard everyday but they can't realize the benefits of that hard work to the extent that they should."

She says President Obama will hold an entrepreneurial summit in Washington to help people develop their talents to generate income. Clinton says Washington is opening new business development centers and is working on a virtual entrepreneur network to link small-scale enterprises on line.

That is in addition to billions of dollars of aid to the Middle East and North Africa, including a $700-million Millennium⁶ Challenge Corporation grant to Morocco for fruit tree farming and small-scale fisheries as well as stronger financial services and enterprise support.

"Over and over we hear from small and medium-size businesses that they can not get the financial assistance, they can't get the technical support that would grow their business. So working with the government of Morocco, we are hoping to really help to see blossom a lot more economic activity at the lower levels that will then from the bottom-up build prosperity," the secretay of state said.

Clinton says the State Department's science envoys⁷ program is sending some of America's brightest scientists to North Africa, the Middle East, South and South-East Asia to fulfill⁸ President Obama's mandate⁹ to foster scientific and technological¹⁰ cooperation.

"It was the Islamic world that led the way in science and medicine," Clinton said. "It was the Islamic world that paved the way for much of the technology and science that we now take for granted. And now we face global challenges. How do we address water issues? How do we solve the climate crisis? How do we eradicate¹¹ disease? Well, we want to look to your societies, and we want to help Muslim-majority communities develop the capacity to meet economic, social, and ecological¹² challenges through science, technology, and innovation."

She says the Obama administration is boosting the number of environment, science, and technology officers at U.S. embassies. The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation is establishing a technology and innovation fund.

On education, Clinton says Washington is supporting partnerships¹³ between U.S. community colleges and institutions in Muslim communities. There is also additional technological support for civil society groups who she says help make communities more prosperous and stable while pushing political institutions to be more responsive to the people they serve.

"Our work is based on empowering individuals rather than promoting ideologies¹⁴, listening and embracing others' ideas rather than simply imposing¹⁵ our own, and pursuing partnerships that are sustainable and broad-based," said Clinton.

"We believe that despite our differences, there is so much more that unites us. Fathers and mothers everywhere want safety and opportunity for their daughters and sons. People everywhere want to have a role in the decisions that affect them, to express their needs to their leaders, to be heard, and to help chart their own futures," she added.
 
The two-day Forum for the Future brings together public and private sector¹⁶ leaders 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 were also on hand to discuss improving human development, democracy, rule of law, and economic growth. 

1 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。

2 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

3 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。

4 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。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

7 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

8 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

11 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

12 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

13 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

14 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

15 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

16 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。