VOA标准英语2014--Europe Pledges Peacekeepers, Trade Ties for Africa

 

Europe Pledges Peacekeepers, Trade Ties for Africa 

LONDON — African and European Union leaders have wrapped up a two-day summit aimed at improving trade ties, but the talks in Brussels were overshadowed by the worsening crisis in the Central African Republic.  

Over the past 10 days, U.N. officials say more than 60 people have been killed in sectarian violence in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui.  Recent violence there and in other C.A.R. cities has prompted tens of thousands of Muslims to flee their communities.

The European Union announced Wednesday it would deploy¹ more troops alongside the 2,000 French soldiers and 6,000 African peacekeepers already in the country.   But on Thursday, Chad said it is pulling its 850 peacekeepers out of the country, following accusations² that the troops have sided with Muslims and Muslim rebels being attacked by the largely Christian³ anti-balaka militia⁴.

Interim⁵ president of Central African Republic Catherine Samba-Panza welcomed the EU reinforcements.

"Throughout the military operation, the process of reconciliation⁶ must be strengthened, so the presence of the military force has no effect on the process of reconciliation," she said. "On the contrary, this process will be stronger under improved security."

The new deployment⁷ was agreed upon after several EU members offered last-minute financial and logistical help, says Alex Vines, the Africa program head of the London-based policy institute Chatham House.

“It is the right thing," said Vines. "But it shows the difficulties, because European politicians are thinking, ‘Well what is the exit strategy, how short can they be there?’”

As well as security, trade topped the summit agenda.  Many African countries brought large business delegations⁸.  EU Council President Herman van Rompuy praised the changing relationship between Europe and Africa.

“More than 800 business and economic leaders committed to improve the business climate and foster investment in African countries.  A fundamental shift from aid to trade and investment as agents of growth and poverty reduction is taking place," said van Rompuy.

Moving from aid-based relationships to trade will require strong oversight⁹, says ActionAid Zambia director Pamela Chisanga.

“If this trade is largely going to benefit the large multinationals¹⁰ who find their way into Africa, then obviously that is a problem.  While we look forward to increased trade, it must be fair trade," said Chisanga.

 

Africa’s economic growth is second only to Asia; European leaders say that rapid development requires an overhaul¹¹ of the paternalistic relationships of the past.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

8 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

9 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

10 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。