2007年VOA标准英语-Condoleezza Rice Calls For Deeper Israeli-Pales

By Jim Teeple
Ramallah
02 August 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Palestinian leaders Thursday on the final day of her Middle East tour aimed at gaining support for a U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference later this year. VOA's Jim Teeple reports.

Condoleezza Rice, left, meets with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, 02 Aug 2007

Condoleezza Rice traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday after holding talks with Israeli leaders on Wednesday in a bid to promote President Bush's call for a Middle East peace conference.

Meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his newly appointed prime minister, Salaam¹ Fayyad, Secretary Rice announced the U.S. will provide Mr. Abbas's Palestinian Authority with $80 million to boost and reform their security forces. U.S. officials traveling with the secretary of state say for now the Palestinians will receive about $10 million of that money. Disbursing² the rest they say will require the approval of the U.S. Congress.

At a news conference with President Abbas, Secretary Rice said President Bush wants the upcoming peace conference to support bilateral³ talks between Israelis and Palestinians aimed at eventually achieving a Palestinian state. She says Mr. Bush is serious about advancing the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The president of the United States has no desire to call people together for a photo opportunity," she said. "This is to call people together so that we can really advance Palestinian statehood. Now we have a lot to do between now and the fall, but I am here to consult and have discussions about the meeting, but also to see what we can do advance the bilateral track [between Israelis and Palestinians]."

Secretary Rice says she will probably return to the region before a peace conference takes place. The time and venue⁴ for any such conference has yet to be set.

U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice (l) and Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni attend a press conference in Jerusalem, 01 Aug 2007

She also says she has received assurances from Israeli leaders that they will discuss substantive⁵ issues at the conference. Israeli leaders say while they support holding the conference, "final status issues," such as the return of Palestinian refugees, permanent borders with the Palestinians and the status of Jerusalem should not be part of the agenda. Saudi Arabian officials have said they will consider attending the conference, but only if it deals with such substantive issues, including the dismantling⁶ of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

For his part, Palestinian President Abbas said on Thursday Palestinians will be flexible when it comes to the conference agenda.

Mr. Abbas says he would like to see the so-called "road-map peace plan" that calls for an Israeli withdrawal⁷ from the West Bank and an end to Palestinian violence, serve as a guideline for the upcoming conference. He says specific steps to achieve a Palestinian state can be negotiated at a later date.

Mr. Abbas also rejected any move to reconcile his Fatah movement with the Islamic militant⁸ group Hamas. Hamas leaders on Thursday criticized Secretary Rice's visit to Ramallah, saying it was designed to divide Palestinians. In June, Hamas militants⁹ soundly defeated Fatah forces loyal to President Abbas in the Gaza Strip, taking over the territory and dividing the Palestinian territories in two. President Abbas on Thursday called the Hamas takeover a great crime, saying it could not be forgiven unless Hamas leaders gave up power in Gaza and apologized for their actions.

1 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

2 disbursing   

v.支出，付出( disburse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Couldn't he have surprised the thief in the disbursing office and been murdered? 也许是他惊动了财务支出室的小偷而被杀？ 来自电影对白
• I understand that the Lender approves a loan by disbursing it. 本人理解贷款银行通过放款的方式批准贷款。 来自互联网

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

6 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

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。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 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。