美国国家公共电台 NPR Hoping For Improved U.S. Ties, Pakistan's Prime Minister Set To Visit White House

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, and President Donald Trump¹ have exchanged some tough words online. Today they will meet in person for the first time. Khan is visiting the White House. And on the top of the agenda, the two leaders will try to figure out how to end the war in Afghanistan. NPR's Diaa Hadid has more from Islamabad.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE²: Pakistan's prime minister and the American president share a few things in common. Both are wealthy men. Both are populists. And like Trump, Khan...

JAVED ASHRAF QAZI: He also rich. So he is somewhat like Trump in that regard.

HADID: That's Ashraf Javed Qazi (ph). He's a former head of Pakistan's powerful military intelligence.

QAZI: Imran, too, is rather direct in what he wants to say.

HADID: In November, Trump accused Pakistan on Twitter of not doing enough on Afghanistan despite taking American aid. And Khan responded. He accused Trump of making Pakistan a scapegoat³ for America's failures in Afghanistan. But days after that Twitter fight, things changed.

Negotiations⁴ between a U.S. envoy⁵ and Taliban leaders to end the war were faltering⁶, and Trump asked for help because Pakistan has sway over the insurgent⁷ group. Khan, who has long advocated for negotiations with the Taliban, agreed to help. And since then, there's been steady progress. Earlier this year, during a visit to Pakistan, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he'd urge President Trump to meet with Khan.

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LINDSEY GRAHAM: Prime Minister Khan was criticized over the decades about talking about reconciling with the Taliban. He was right. The war in Afghanistan will end through reconciliation⁸.

HADID: The Trump-Khan meeting will chiefly focus on that war. Ammara Durrani is a political analyst⁹ in Islamabad.

AMMARA DURRANI: This meeting would definitely focus on resolving some key final issues which could eventually and hopefully lead to a political settlement in Afghanistan.

HADID: Both the U.S. and Pakistan want this war to end. Trump can claim a foreign policy victory as the president who ended America's longest war. And Pakistan will have cemented its leverage¹⁰ in any future Afghan government through its sway over the Taliban. But the visit to the White House itself is a domestic policy win for Khan, at a time when he's facing anger at home for rising prices and a falling currency. It's the first visit by a Pakistani prime minister in four years, and Khan can claim he's fixing ties with an important ally. This is his foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, speaking at a conference last week.

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SHAH MAHMOOD QURESHI: I can say today that from isolation¹¹, we have moved towards invitation.

HADID: But ultimately, much may ride on the personal rapport¹² Khan strikes with Trump, says Qazi, the former intelligence chief.

QAZI: I think it could go either way. Either it will mend some of the fissures¹³ that we have had in our relations and things could go smoothly¹⁴...

HADID: Or, he says, they could totally go in the opposite direction.

Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Islamabad.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 scapegoat   

n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊

参考例句：

• He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
• They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙，出了乱子，好让我替他们垫背。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• 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。

6 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

7 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

11 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

12 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

13 fissures   

n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Rising molten rock flows out on the ocean floor and caps the fissures, trapping the water. 上升熔岩流到海底并堵住了裂隙，结果把海水封在里面。 来自辞典例句
• The French have held two colloquia and an international symposium on rock fissures. 法国已经开了两次岩石裂缝方面的报告会和一个国际会议。 来自辞典例句

14 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。