VOA标准英语2013--US, Somalia Renew Diplomatic Ties After 20 Years

 

US, Somalia Renew Diplomatic Ties After 20 Years

African peacekeepers are patrolling the streets of Mogadishu, helping¹ secure the capital for a new government bent² on overcoming decades of chaos³ after the collapse⁴ of Siad Barre's rule in 1991.

At the State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud marked the restoration of formal ties. President Mohamud said it's the start of a new era.

"Somalia is emerging from a very long, difficult period. And we are now moving away from instability, extremism, and piracy⁵ to an era of peace and development," Mohamud said.

Secretary Clinton called the occasion a testimony⁶ to Somali determination.

"The people and leaders of Somalia have fought and sacrificed to bring greater stability, security, and peace to their nation. There is still a long way to go and many challenges to confront. But we have seen a new foundation for that better future," Clinton said.

As President Mohamud's government restores services, including education, health care, and public safety, Somali refugees are beginning to return home from camps in Kenya.

Forces loyal to the new government fought alongside African peacekeepers to drive back Islamist militants⁷ of the al-Shabab group.

For now, President Mohamud still relies heavily on African peacekeepers to keep al-Shabab at bay.

But Secretary Clinton said the international community will continue to back efforts to combat the al-Qaida affiliates⁸.

"The terrorists, as we have learned once again in the last days, are not resting. And neither will we. We will be very clear-eyed and realistic about the threat they continue to pose," she said.

Jennifer Cooke, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says President Mohamud faces serious challenges.

"He's still working within a political and a security context that is going to be extremely difficult. Yes, Shabab is being pushed out of some of the big areas. But Shabab doesn't need to do a whole lot to disrupt things in a big way in Mogadishu," Cooke said.

Cooke says President Mohamud's government is untainted by the corruption⁹ of its predecessors¹⁰, but he must still navigate¹¹ the factionalism and clan¹² patronage¹³ of Somali politics.

"He is an individual working within a political context. And so although there is an opportunity here, there is a lot that he has to do within a very narrow time frame to establish himself, his credibility, and the credibility of the institutions that he works within," Cooke said.

Restoring diplomatic ties means Somalia can establish new relationships with U.S. development agencies and with international financial institutions, including the World Bank. 

1 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。

2 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 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。

8 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

12 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

13 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。