奥巴马与卡斯特罗历史性会面

 　　PANAMA CITY—U.S. President Barack Obama, after a highly anticipated meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, said the two countries "are now in a position to move on a path toward the future."

　　The two met Saturday afternoon on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, shortly after their back-to-back addresses to other regional leaders. The two leaders' informal meeting was the first since Obama announced in December his intention to normalize relations with Havana.

　　There had been no face-to-face discussion between the two countries' top leaders in more than five decades.

　　"This is obviously a historic meeting," Obama said. "The history between the United States and Cuba is obviously complicated, and over the years, a lot of mistrust has developed.” After 50 years of policy that had not worked, he said, "it was time for us to try something new."

　　Obama, Castro Have Historic Face-to-Face Meeting

　　?That would include opening embassies in Washington and Havana, the president said.

　　Obama acknowledged that deep and significant differences remain between the two countries. He said the U.S. would speak out for democracy and human rights, and Cuba would raise concerns about U.S. policy as well.

　　"Over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries," the U.S. president said.

　　As for Castro, he told Obama he agreed with all the points he'd made and said he was open to discussion, but "we need to be patient, very patient.

　　"We might disagree on something today on which we could agree tomorrow," he said.

　　The Cuban leader said his government is willing to discuss all issues, including human rights if those discussions are respectful.

　　After Castro spoke¹, the men stood and shook hands.

　　At a late-afternoon news conference, Obama said that his trip to Panama City for his third Summit of the Americas reflected a new era of U.S. engagement in the region.

　　He said that part of his talks with Castro involved how to promote greater opportunities for the Cuban people, and how access to education could be expanded throughout Latin America.

　　"We are focused on the future and on what we can build and achieve together," he said.

　　In response to a question, Obama said his outreach to Havana had majority support in the United States and overwhelming support in Cuba. And with regard to the U.S. removal of Cuba from Washington's state sponsors of terrorism list, he said he wanted to study recommendations from State Department officials "before we announce publicly what the policy outcome will be."

　　Obama called his talks with Castro — two previous visits by phone and Saturday's personal encounter — "candid² and fruitful."

　　"We are able to speak honestly about our differences and concerns in ways that offer the possibility" of taking bilateral³ relations in a different direction, he said.

　　"What has been clear through the summit," he said, "is the unanimity⁴ that the leaders of Latin America think this is the right thing to do. They see the possibility of a more constructive⁵ dialogue that ultimately benefits the Cuban people. I am cautiously optimistic that, over coming months and years, this will lead to a different future for the Cuban people."

　　Asked whether his outreach ended the policy of regime change in Cuba, Obama said: "We are not in the business of regime change. We are in the business of making sure the Cuban people have freedom and chance to shape their own lives."

　　Addresses to summit

　　In his speech earlier to summit leaders, Castro delved⁶ into a long, impassioned history of Cuban grievances⁷ against the United States, but stopped to apologize to the U.S. leader, calling him an "honest man" and absolving⁸ him of responsibility for the long-standing U.S. embargo⁹ on Cuba and other actions taken under previous administrations.

　　"I have told President Obama myself that I am very emotional when I talk about the revolution," he said. "I apologize, because President Obama had no responsibility for this."

　　The Cuban president spoke for 48 minutes, much of that time delivering a stinging indictment¹⁰ of what he said was U.S. intervention¹¹ in the island nation and the rest of Latin America.

　　But he praised Obama’s efforts to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, which he said should have never included his country.

　　The terrorists, Castro said, are those like the CIA operative who participated in the capture and interrogation of executed leftist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who died in 1967 in Bolivia in a failed attempt to lead a guerrilla uprising.

　　Cold War 'over for a long time'

　　Addressing the regional gathering¹² of leaders just before Castro, Obama said he was focused on the future and was not caught up in ideology¹³.

　　"The Cold War has been over for a long time, and I’m not interested in having battles that, frankly¹⁴, started before I was born," he said.

　　Obama said he had called on Congress to begin work to end the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, a move Castro welcomed.

　　The president said re-establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba would enhance opportunities for the island nation, the United States and beyond.

　　"This shift in U.S. policy represents a turning point for our entire region," he said.

　　As the two-day summit opened Friday evening, Obama and Castro shook hands, a gesture widely seen as symbolic¹⁵ of their effort to bury decades of animosity.

　　It has been two years since their first handshake, which came at the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela.

　　Cuba’s status revisited

　　Obama announced Thursday in Jamaica that a State Department review of Cuba's status has been completed and said he was awaiting a final recommendation.

　　Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat¹⁶ on the Senate's Foreign Relations panel, said the State Department had recommended removing Cuba from the terrorism list. "The United States has a unique opportunity to begin a fresh chapter with Cuba,'' he said.

　　The president previously¹⁷ signaled he would be willing to drop the "state terrorism" label as part of normalizing relations with Cuba. The three other countries on the list are Iran, Sudan and Syria.

　　The administration's recent overtures¹⁸ to Cuba have drawn¹⁹ sharp rebuke²⁰ from critics such as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a possible future presidential candidate. He objected to Obama's likely meeting with Castro, calling the Cuban leader an "entrenched²¹ dictator," the Associated Press reported.

　　"President Obama is truly writing new chapters in American foreign policy,'' Graham said, according to AP. "Unfortunately, these latest chapters are ones of America and the values we stand for — human rights, freedom and democracy — in retreat and decline.''

　　Kerry and counterpart meet

　　The summit already has provided impetus²² for a meeting late Thursday between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Cuban counterpart — the highest-level direct meeting in decades between the two governments

　　A senior State Department official said that Kerry's talk with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez was "very constructive" and that both sides "agreed they made progress."

1 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。

2 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

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 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

5 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

6 delved   

v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She delved in her handbag for a pen. 她在手提包里翻找钢笔。
• He delved into the family archives looking for the facts. 他深入查考这个家族的家谱以寻找事实根据。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 absolving   

宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的现在分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责）

参考例句：

• I'm not absolving myself from blame just because I was not playing. 我不是只是因为我没有参加比赛就把自己从责任中开脱出去。
• The method of culturing treepeony containerized seedlings and absolving epicotyl dormancy of treepeony seeds. 笔者探索了牡丹容器育苗的方法和解除牡丹种子上胚轴休眠的方法。

9 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

10 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

11 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。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

14 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

16 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

18 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

19 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

21 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

22 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。