联合国安理会通过叙利亚和平进程决议

 The Syrian conflict has raged for nearly five years, killing¹ around a quarter of a million people.

Throughout the path to peace has been cracked and cratered² by the differing opinions of other countries.

Now, a new agreement, aimed at paving the way to peace talks next year.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted on a draft resolution that calls on the UN to bring the Syria government and the opposition³ to the negotiating table by the end of January.

Here's UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

联合国安理会通过叙利亚和平进程决议

But this agreement almost didn't happen. Ahead of the Council meeting, the foreign ministers of 17 countries met to try and agree the wording of the resolution. Haggling⁴ ensued.

Among the issues of contention⁵ - what to do with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has long held the view he should stay. The US wants him gone.

But meetings between the two countries in Moscow earlier this week saw a further softening⁶ of stance.

Russia and America seeming to agree he can remain for a transitional period before stepping aside.

Another issue that needed resolving - who to invite to the peace talks.

Each country had differing views, some feeling that certain opposition members should be label "terrorists" and excluded for January's discussions.

But an agreement was reached that allowed for this UN resolution which calls for peace talks along with a nationwide ceasefire - something China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said must go together.

"The two most important issues are the launch of a political negotiation⁷ and a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities⁸. They are the most pressing issues and they are interrelated. We cannot have a peace process without a ceasefire; and without a ceasefire peace talks cannot continue to produce results."

Now, the two-year road map begins, with peace talks, a unity⁹ government and eventual¹⁰ elections.

And the hope that the Syrian government and opposition groups to work together to jointly¹¹ defeat the other crisis facing their country: the Islamic State.

For CRI, I'm Nick Harper in New York.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 cratered   

adj.有坑洞的，多坑的v.火山口( crater的过去分词 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• The surface cratered with the constant dropping of water. 表面因经常滴水而成坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Artillery cratered the roads. 炮击后大路布满了弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 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。

4 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句

5 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

6 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

7 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

8 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。

9 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。

10 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

11 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。