VOA标准英语2011--G8 Backs Away From Libya 'No-Fly' Zone

France failed Tuesday to get support for a "no-fly" zone over Libya from the Group of Eight nations meeting in Paris.
A two-day meeting of the G8 foreign ministers ended without agreement on establishing a no-fly zone against Libya, with reservations expressed by Russia and Germany. The flight restrictions¹ had been pushed by France and Britain, but even before the meeting ended, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe acknowledged that support was far from unanimous.
In an interview on France's Europe 1 radio, Juppe said that if such a no-fly zone had been agreed to last week, the Libyan opposition² might not have experienced its recent setbacks against the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
He said G8 ministers had agreed to relaunch discussions at the United Nations on ways to increase pressure against the Gadhafi government, including a possible air exclusion³ zone.
But German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle described any military intervention⁴ as difficult and dangerous. Westerwelle said a no-fly zone amounted to military intervention, and the international community had to be careful not to provoke the opposite effect of what it intended.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended part of the G8 meeting and also met with a member of the opposition Libyan National Council in Paris before heading to Cairo on Tuesday.
Japan's foreign minister also attended the G8 meeting, and Japanese diplomats⁵ expressed thanks for help being offered by G8 members to the devastated⁶ nation.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 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。

3 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。