万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-07-02&07-03, 布莱尔的新工作

Smiles and handshakes six months ago, the last time Tony Blair met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But since then everything has changed. The militant¹ Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza by force from their partners in the Palestinian Government Fatah. Four hundred people have been killed this year in Gaza according to Palestinian medical sources. And President Abbas has named a new emergency government without Hamas. Gaza and the West Bank are divided geographically² and politically. The hopes of a unified³ Palestinian state and a peace deal with Israel dashed. It is a huge challenge Tony Blair believes he is ready for. But the question is, are the Palestinians ready for Blair? He is welcome in the corridors of power in Ramallah.

He has a vision on how to deal with the economic situation. The main issue that we would cooperate on is the economic issue. I think he will be a valuable addition.

But there is a fairly damning assessment⁴ of Blair on the streets of Ramallah. This lady tells us: "I am not optimistic because he was Prime Minister. If he wanted to do something, why hasn't he done it already? If he didn't help us in the first job, why would he help us in the second job?"

The owner of this jewelry⁵ shop says he doesn't trust Blair at all and doesn't believe anything will change.

I doubt it very much, because he was involved from before for the Middle East for him to solve it. And it just got worse.

Blair's first job will be to change the perception that he is pro-Israeli, pro-American and damage from his involvement in the war in Iraq.

Many things depends on the mandate⁶ that he would be offered by the Quartet itself, But I don't think that this will make any difference for a man who is considered pro-Israeli over the past ten years.

The reaction in Israel is positive. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Blair is a true friend of Israel.

Tony Blair does have some qualifications when it comes to brokering⁷ peace. He showed himself to be hands-on and persistent⁸ in Northern Ireland where he managed to bring two sworn enemies together to share power. It's certainly a skill he is going to need here when trying to encourage the Palestinians to take a unified position.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
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the Quartet: The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities⁹ involved in mediating¹⁰ the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The group was established in 2002, as a result of the escalating¹¹ conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy¹².

Sworn enemy: 不共戴天的敌仇

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

3 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

8 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

9 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

11 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

12 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。