VOA慢速英语2018--巴基斯坦新总理会见美国高级外交官

Pakistan’s New Prime Minister Meets with Top US Diplomat¹

Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Islamabad Wednesday.

Khan said he hoped he could reset² relations with the United States. He spoke³ just a few days after the U.S. government suspended aid to Pakistan over its reported failure to fight militants⁴.

“You know I’m a born optimist,” said Khan, a former cricket player who became prime minister last month.

“A sportsman always is an optimist,” he added. “He steps on the field and he thinks he’s going to win.”

Pompeo was in Pakistan for only four hours on his first visit to the country.

At the airport before leaving for India, the U.S. official said he was “hopeful” that the two sides could move forward.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, lots more discussion to be had,” he said, adding it was time for the countries to carry out their joint⁵ agreements.

Pompeo held meetings with Khan, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the powerful army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The new government gives the two sides a chance to continue discussing economic, business and other issues, Pompeo said. He said that they spoke about the need for a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan that is good for everyone, including the Pakistanis.

“I’m hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the conditions for continued success as we start to move forward,” he said before leaving for India.

Last weekend, the United States canceled a $300 million Coalition⁶ Support Fund payment to Pakistan. The U.S. government said Pakistan was not doing enough to defeat the Taliban and other militants who attack Afghan and U.S. forces across the border.

Pakistan has rejected those claims. Pakistani officials say their country has been a major player in the U.S.-led campaign against militants. It was launched after al-Qaida attacked U.S. targets on September 11, 2001.

Flying to Pakistan, Pompeo announced his appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad as the new U.S. special adviser⁷ on re-building Afghanistan. Khalilzad, a long-time diplomat, is not well-liked in Pakistan. He “has been very critical of Pakistan in the past and his appointment will not help move things forward,” said Zahid Hussain, an expert on militancy⁸ in South Asia.

Khalilzad was born in Afghanistan. From 2001-2003, he served as U.S. special envoy⁹ to the country following the collapse¹⁰ of the Taliban. In 2003-2005, he was the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

He often blames Afghanistan’s lack of security and other problems on Pakistan’s military and ISI intelligence agency. He has accused them of helping¹¹ Taliban forces.

Neither the United States nor Pakistan can afford a full break in relations, Hussain said. He added that Pakistan is angered that the relationship has been reduced to a single issue: Afghanistan.

As an opposition¹² leader, Khan often criticized Pakistan’s use of U.S. financial assistance. He briefly¹³ stopped trucks supplying fuel and other goods to U.S. and NATO troops from crossing into Afghanistan. He did this to protest U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal¹⁴ areas along the border.

In a speech following the July 25 elections, Khan said Pakistan would not take part in the U.S. war on terror. He has called for a peaceful end to the Afghan conflict.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

optimistic - adj. hopeful; expecting good things to happen

cricket – n. a British sport played with ball and a bat

envoy - n. a person who is sent by one government to represent it in dealing¹⁵ with another government

foundation – n. the base on which something lies

afford – v. being able to provide the cost of something

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

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 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。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

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 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。