VOA标准英语2014--奥巴马:峰会已为非洲动用370亿美元

 

African Summit Yields $37 Billion in US Commitment 奥巴马:峰会已为非洲动用370亿美元

Fifty African leaders who attended the unprecedented¹ summit left Washington with a U.S. commitment of $37 billion.

That includes a three- to five-year U.S. security plan to help deal with conflicts like those involving Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabab in Somalia, and radical² groups in the Sahel. 

"We will join with six countries who have recently demonstrated a track record as peacekeepers: Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda," President Barack Obama said. "And we will invite countries beyond Africa to join us in supporting this effort because the entire world has a stake in peacekeeping in Africa.“

Investment in continent

The military assistance is part of a U.S. effort that also includes trade expansion and investment. Africa has six of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world. And the continent's population is expected to double by 2050.

Mauritania President Mohamed Aziz, chairman of the African Union, said, “Two-thirds will be young people less than 35 years of age. It's both an asset and a challenge.”

The challenge will be providing a good infrastructure³, education and jobs.

Employment will get a boost with another announcement this week -- a $33 billion investment by private and public companies like Coca-Cola and IBM. 

In Washington, protesters complained about repressive governments within Africa that could stifle⁴ U.S. investment --  these demonstrators are angry that Obama hosted the leaders of Guinea, Gambia and Ethiopia.

Across town, the African leaders' spouses⁵ met with first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush, whose session focused on empowering African women.

“One person once said to me, ‘Why are you working with women, it’s men that have the problem," Bush said.

Michelle Obama added, “You have to change attitudes before you can change behaviors.” 

Although Africa faces many challenges, President Obama said the Washington summit showcases Africa's emergence⁶ as a new and prosperous continent.

The talks, at a series of forums⁷ Wednesday, were a highlight of a massive three-day summit in Washington involving about 50 African heads of state and government.

Peacekeeping mission

Earlier Wednesday, Obama announced the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership⁸, saying "the entire world has a stake in peacekeeping in Africa."

The United States will invest $110 million per year for three to five years to help build the capacity of African militaries to rapidly deploy⁹ peacekeepers to a variety of threats, including conflicts, terrorist activity and human trafficking.

The partnership will begin with six African nations: Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. They will commit to maintain forces and equipment to rapidly deploy, and will agree to deploy with United Nations and African Union missions in Africa.

The White House says African leaders made clear this week their ability to quickly respond to crises was at the top of their peace and security agenda.

The U.S. also has pledged to provide additional equipment to African peacekeepers in Somalia and the Central African Republic.

Since 2009, the United States has committed to provide nearly $892 million in the development of African peacekeeping capacity. The United States has trained and equipped more than 250,000 troops and police for service in U.N. and AU peacekeeping operations.

From Boko Haram in Nigeria to al-Shabab in Somalia, African countries have struggled to curb¹⁰ violence and deadly attacks from military groups.

1 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。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

5 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

6 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

7 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 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。

10 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。