时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(十二月)


英语课
The United States has joined other powers in the international Middle East Quartet in urging an immediate 1 Gaza Strip cease-fire. The Quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations - discussed the crisis on Tuesday in a ministerial-level telephone conference call.
 






Smoke rises following an Israeli missile strike in northern Gaza, 30 Dec 2008



The Bush administration had resisted joining calls for an immediate cease-fire, with officials saying they did not want a hasty agreement that would bring about a repeat of the previous truce 2 that Hamas frequently violated and which fell apart earlier this month.

But officials here say U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined her Quartet partners in the immediate cease-fire appeal because the four powers also stipulated 3 that it be "fully 4 respected" by both Hamas and Israel.

The telephone conference involving Rice, U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, European Union chief diplomat 5 Javier Solana, Quartet envoy 6 Tony Blair, and others, highlighted a day of intense diplomacy 7 aimed at restoring peace to Gaza.

A State Department spokesman said the Quartet members called on all parties to address the serious humanitarian 9 and economic needs in Gaza, and take necessary measures to insure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies.

They also agreed on the urgent need for Israelis and Palestinians to continue on the road to peace and agreed to remain in close touch, though the spokesman said there were no immediate plans for a face-to-face Quartet meeting.
 






White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe (file photo)




Earlier in Crawford, Texas, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said a ceasefire in name only - that breaks down in hours or days - serves no one's interest.

"We have got to get a commitment from Hamas that they would respect any crease-fire and make it lasting 10 and durable," said Johndroe. "And so, until we can get that assurance - not the United States, but until Israel can get that assurance from Hamas - then we're not going to have a cease-fire that is worth the paper it's written on."

Johndroe said President Bush, who is spending the holidays at home in Texas, got a video briefing on the Gaza situation from his national security team Tuesday and spoke 8 by telephone with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the two top leaders of the Palestinian Authority - President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Prime Minister Fayyad thanked Mr. Bush for an $85 million commitment of new U.S. humanitarian aid to Palestinians announced earlier in the day.

Although it rejects dealings with Hamas, which is listed by the State Department as a terrorist group, the United States has continued providing food, medicine and other supplies to Gaza Palestinians through the United Nations and other third parties.

Johndroe said Mr. Bush expressed appreciation 11 to President Mubarak for Egypt's leadership and positive role in the current crisis. Egypt has contacts with both Hamas and Israel, and helped broker 12 the previous six-month truce which expired earlier this month and which Hamas refused to renew.



1 immediate
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
2 truce
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束
  • The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
  • She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。
3 stipulated
vt.& vi.规定;约定adj.[法]合同规定的
  • A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
  • Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀,我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句
4 fully
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
5 diplomat
n.外交官,外交家;能交际的人,圆滑的人
  • 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。
6 envoy
n.使节,使者,代表,公使
  • 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 diplomacy
n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕
  • The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
  • This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
8 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
  • 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。
9 humanitarian
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者
  • She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业,并作了很大的贡献。
  • The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
10 lasting
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
  • 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 appreciation
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨
  • I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
  • I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
12 broker
n.中间人,经纪人;v.作为中间人来安排
  • He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
  • I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。
学英语单词
a-x
airy-heiskanen gravity reduction
ARCENT
Arteria pterygomeningea
baby beefs
ball-proof cloth
baroody
bid price
Bonin Islands
cap twister
card wire
Carpenter centrifuge
central business height index
chuon
colletotrichum pachyrrhizicola
confectionaries
counting device
defense of patent
differential gain
dilute gas
dinitro-phenyl-morphine
disambiguated
dove tree?
drinkholders
dubose
electronically-controlled
exaggerated reflex
feralize
financial services export
freight conference
generation cost
granular cell tumor
GTLT
gyrotron
heart failure
hybrid tuberous begonias
Kamob Sanha
lead-covered
lens-clips
lg.
Lo-res.
lustratory
macaron
magnitude of use-value
maldef
menu security
momulv
mucronule
negative-image
niyibigira
nonionic emulsifier
nonisothermal plasma
nonselective radiator
once-powerful
orphan disease
osteolipoma
outspreads
overlives
ownership of movable
oxycardioresirograph
palladiums
Paphiopedilum charlesworthii
paraflutizide
Plica vestibularis
plpr
precise positioning
private pleasure purposes
profit-oriented
punctuist
pyrrhonize
questane
ready made product
recessus infundibularis
red cell preservation
red routes
ribonic acid
satellite separation
saturated resin
scare headline
Sebastopol
seniores priores
serial binary coded decimal
shuppare
sinoatrial node
solution tank
sprayed insulation
standard entropy change
subducting lithosphere
subpyramidal fossae
ticket porter
timespan
turmerone
turret lifting hook
ulpepsan
under-water
vacuum sealing grease
ventrocystorrhaphy
vittori
Weighfeeders
wrap block
ZnS-film