VOA标准英语2010年-Obama, Netanyahu Working to Mend US Is

President Barack Obama walks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the White House, 6 Jul 2010

From the peace process with the Palestinians to Iran's nuclear program, U.S President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covered a wide range of thorny¹ issues during their recent meeting in Washington.  Many analysts² say the most important development to emerge from the talks was the apparent improvement in what had been a rocky relationship between the two leaders.

 

Personal invitations, smiles and handshakes helped set what many observers say was an overwhelmingly positive tone during Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the Oval Office.

The meeting reflected a remarkable³ shift in a relationship that had been marred⁴ by significant disagreements on a variety of issues.

Robert Satloff is the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy:

"The most important development was not any particular word or phrase, but the clear effort by the president to change the atmospherics of this relationship," said Mr. Satloff.  "To change the perception of tension and crisis and give off the aura of good feelings between the United States and Israel."

While a single meeting at the White House is not likely to resolve 18 months of significant policy differences, Mr. Obama emphasized the continuing strength of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

"The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable," said Mr. President Obama.

That bond was severely⁵ strained when Israel announced the expansion of Jewish settlements in mostly Arab East Jerusalem earlier this year during a visit to the region by U.S. Vice⁶ President Joe Biden.

The mood was so sour that during Mr. Netanyahu's last visit in March, the White House barred cameras.  In what was widely viewed as a snub, the president left the prime minister and went upstairs to the residence for more than an hour.

Another meeting was postponed⁷ when a raid by Israeli commandos on an aid flotilla led to the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists⁸.  The incident did not derail indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. special envoy⁹ George Mitchell has continued his shuttle diplomacy¹⁰ between the parties in an effort to restart direct negotiations¹¹.

"It is everybody's goal to get to direct talks.  We have to make sure we get to those talks with the understandings in place for both the Israelis and the Palestinian side of what the parameters¹² are, what they are discussing, what the time frame is and what the U.S. is expecting in terms of the process as well," said Hadar Susskind, Vice President for Policy and Strategy at the pro-Israel lobbying organization J Street.

Mr. Netanyahu is promising¹³ to take "concrete steps" toward advancing the peace process in the coming weeks.

President Obama has endorsed¹⁴ an Israeli position to resume direct talks before a moratorium¹⁵ on settlement construction expires at the end of September.

"It is impossible to imagine that this Israeli government will extend a moratorium on settlement construction without movement in the peace process, without the Palestinians agreeing to direct talks, something which I should point out has been the norm for the last 17 years," added Satloff. 

Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu back strong sanctions against Iran because of concern it is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, something Tehran denies.

In a further effort to reassure¹⁶ the Jewish state, President Obama says there is no change in U.S. policy toward Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons program.

"We strongly believe that given its size, its history, the region that it's in, and the threats that are leveled against us -- against it, that Israel has unique security requirements," said President Obama.

Mr. Obama also has domestic political reasons for softening¹⁷ his public attitude toward Israel.  Opposition¹⁸ Republican candidates campaigning before November midterm elections are courting Jewish voters, who ordinarily back Democrats¹⁹, by trying to portray²⁰ the president as anti-Israel.

Any breakthrough in the peace process before the elections would help both leaders' popularity at home.
 

1 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

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 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

13 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

14 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

16 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

17 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？