VOA标准英语2009年-Four Darfur Rebel Groups Reach Unity Deal

Four prominent Darfur rebel groups are forming a unified¹ front to engage in future peace talks with Sudan's government, and urging other factions² to join them. The front still faces big obstacles as members try to patch up differences that doomed³ previous unity⁴ efforts.

Four of the more than 20 Darfur rebel splinter groups have pledged to settle internal differences that have hampered⁵ efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Khartoum on ending a six-year civil war. The deal was reached during US-backed talks in Ethiopia's capital over the past several days.

President Obama's special envoy⁶ to Sudan J. Scott Gration was present for the signing. He called rebel unity a prerequisite⁷ for political talks on stopping a war the United Nations says has killed 300,000 people and displaced millions more.

"These efforts have been plagued by pitfalls⁸ in the past, and what I've seen with this group is they are working so hard to ensure that we learn from past attempts to unify⁹, to get peace, and this time to make it lasting¹⁰, durable¹¹; this time to make it a peace that doesn't have spoilers," he said.

Signers of the deal include the United Resistance Front, along with three splinter factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement, including one led by Paris-based Abdul Wahid Nur, who has distanced himself from previous unification efforts.

Ahmed Abdelshafi Toba, leader of one of the Sudan Liberation Movement factions, says work will begin immediately to patch up existing differences among the four, and to try to attract a broader cross-section of rebel groups.

"The country is undergoing a very difficult and delicate moment, which requires all of us to come together," he said. "We started this step of unifying¹² the Sudan Liberation Movement with other movements in Darfur for the necessity and practicality, and then go with other like minded groups in the country to create a transformation¹³ of Sudan and to create the Sudan we all dreaming to have in near future."

Among prominent factions staying away from the Addis Ababa talks was the Justice and Equality Movement. Its leader, Khalil Ibrahim, recently lashed¹⁴ out at U.S. special envoy Gration, calling the American's effort to forge a rebel alliance 'na?ve'. Ibrahim has suggested other rebel groups should instead join his movement.

In a sign of the underlying¹⁵ hostilities¹⁶ that still plague the rebel movement, United Resistance Front chairman Baha Idriss Abu Garda said Ibrahim's statements suggest he is out of touch with reality in Darfur.

"JEM Khalil, the wing of Khalil Ibrahim is isolating¹⁷ itself by saying they cannot negotiate with everybody, and by denying the existence of a real movement on the ground," he said. "Even they are not on the ground, we know that, and by saying nobody will talk about Darfur except themselves, that's the way they are isolating themselves."

The newly-formed rebel union still faces several massive challenges. Possibly the biggest will be agreeing on a leader acceptable to all. The URF's Abu Garda admits the leadership issue is far from settled, but he says all parties are going into the union with their eyes open.

Everybody knows splitting of the movement happened in Darfur for certain reasons and now we are going to discuss all those problems very deeply and find a solution for that, and we will discuss the problem of leadership, and we will find leadership that will lead all movement in good faith.

A senior Sudanese government official recently welcomed the rebel unity effort, saying it was difficult to negotiate with more than 20 separate factions. The government disputes UN casualty figures for the six year war. Khartoum's figures indicate only about 10,000 people have died.

1 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

6 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。

7 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

8 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

9 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

10 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

11 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

12 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

13 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

14 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

16 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

17 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句