Clinton to hold key Somalia talks

　　She is expected to endorse¹ Somalia's beleaguered² transitional government amid fears the country is becoming a haven³ for Islamist militants⁴.
　　Large swathes of Somalia are out of the government's control.
　　With the al-Shabab rebels growing in strength, more than 250,000 people have fled their homes over three months.
　　Mrs Clinton will hold talks with the UN-backed Somali leader on the second day of her African tour.
　　Somali Foreign Minister Muhammad Abdullahi Omar told the BBC the US was "seriously engaged" in helping⁵ bring stability and peace to his country.
　　Wreath-layingBefore Thursday's meeting, she will honour the victims of the August 1998 attacks（攻击） on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in a wreath-laying ceremony in Nairobi.
　　It [al-Shabab] poses a threat to Kenya, poses a threat to the stability of Africa and beyondHillary ClintonUS secretary of stateMeeting Somalia's al-ShababQ&A: Somalia's conflictIn pictures: Somali refugee cityPresident Ahmed needs all the support he can get, says the BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi. Pro-government forces are only in control of a small section of the capital Mogadishu.
　　There are reports that al-Shabab - which favours strict Islamic law - is gaining support from extremists around the world, our correspondent says.
　　Earlier this week, police in Australia arrested several men, charging them with planning suicide attacks on a base in Sydney and saying they were linked to al-Shabab.
　　Our correspondent points out it is far too dangerous for the American secretary of state to venture into Somalia, as the fighting continues.
　　Speaking on the sidelines of an economic summit on Wednesday, Mrs Clinton said: "We know we're facing a very difficult conflict（冲突）, and we also know that the presence of al-Shabab and terrorist elements within Somalia poses a threat," reports Reuters news agency.
　　"It poses a threat to Kenya, poses a threat to the stability of Africa and beyond. So this is an area where we're going to work even more closely together."Somalia's foreign minister told the BBC's Network Africa programme that Washington's support for his government was a "golden opportunity".
　　"It is absolutely clear that the people of Somalia are tired... sick and tired of war, sick and tired of chaos," he said.
　　"We believe we have reached a critical stage where we hope to build momentum⁶ and mass to enable us to get to the next stage of stabilising the capital and the surrounding regions and then to move on."The US admits it has supplied pro-government forces in Somalia with over 40 tonnes of weapons and ammunition⁷ this year, and another delivery of weapons is predicted, says our correspondent.
　　But there are growing fears that the Horn of Africa country - which has been without an effective central government since 1991 - risks becoming a haven for terrorists.
　　'Enormous potential'
　　On Wednesday, Mrs Clinton held talks in Nairobi with Kenya's president and prime minister.
　　CLINTON'S AFRICAN TOURKenyaSouth AfricaNigeriaAngolaLiberiaDemocratic Republic of CongoCape VerdeSend us your commentsAmerica's top diplomat⁹ described as "disappointing" Kenya's failure to investigate a bout¹⁰ of violence that left at least 1,300 people dead after the disputed December 2007 presidential election.
　　Addressing African leaders at Wednesday's economic summit, Mrs Clinton said the continent had "enormous potential for progress".
　　But she stressed that harnessing that potential would require democracy and good governance.
　　During her 11-day trip Mrs Clinton will also visit South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape⁸ Verde.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

2 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• 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。

10 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。