美国代表团访问哥伦比亚

 

US Delegation¹ Visits Colombia

Rhoda Metcalfe

Bogota

31 Aug 2001 23:33 UTC

 

It's been almost a year since the U.S. government agreed to invest more than $1.3 billion in a wide-ranging anti-narcotics² program known as Plan Colombia. The program aims to 1)eliminate half of Colombia's 2)cocaine production over five years. But its aerial spraying to knock out drug crops has been 3)controversial. This week, Colombia received its first high-level U.S. government 4)delegation under the new Bush administration.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, who led the delegation on its three-day visit, gave an assessment³ of the anti-drug 5)strategy at a news conference Friday. "The combination of aerial 6)spraying and voluntary 7)manual 8)eradication⁴ by farmers who made pacts⁵ with the government has had a serious impact on drug production in southern Colombia," he said. "50,000 hectares of coca plantation⁶ have been sprayed from the air nationwide in what we believe is a safe and environmentally sound manner."

To destroy the crops, the aerial 9)fumigation⁷ program uses the chemical glyphosate, commercially known as Round Up. That's become controversial in recent months, as residents in the drug growing zones complain the spraying is causing skin and eye 10)infections. Mr. Grossman says the U.S. administration has looked into the issue. "If you are in contact with the glyphosate in high enough 11)concentrations, it does cause eye irritations⁸, but the way we spray it, and the levels with which we spray it, are so low, that we don't believe this is a problem in the short term or the long term," he said.

The visit comes at a time when peace talks with the country's largest left-wing 12)guerrilla group, the FARC, are 13)teetering precariously⁹. There is mounting criticism that the rebels are making unfair use of a huge 14)demilitarized zone, created to allow for peace negotiations¹⁰, as their own private refuge to hold 15)kidnap victims, process narcotics and train troops. Some critics have called for the zone to be eliminated, which would likely mean an end to peace talks. Mr. Grossman did not agree. "The establishment and continuation of such a zone is purely¹¹ and wholly and solely¹² a matter for the Colombian government," he said. "I made no recommendations to President Pastrana. What I did was agreed with President Pastrana that there is a need to restart the peace process."

In mid-September U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Colombia and Peru, as part of the continuing evaluation¹³ of the U.S.-backed anti-drug strategy.

 

 

(1)      eliminate[I5lImIneIt]vt.排除, 消除v.除去

(2)      cocaine[kEJ5keIn]n.古柯碱,可卡因

(3)      controversial[kRntrE5v:F(E)l]adj.争论的, 争议的

(4)      delegation[delI5^eIF(E)n]n.代表团, 授权, 委托

(5)      strategy[5strAtIdVI]n.策略, 军略

(6)      spray[spreI]n.喷雾, 飞沫vt.喷射, 喷溅

(7)      manual[5mAnjJEl]n.手册, 指南adj.手的, 手动的, 手工的, 体力的

(8)      eradication n.连根拔除, 根除

(9)      fumigation忿恨

(10)      infection[In5fekF(E)n]n.[医] 传染, 传染病, 影响, 感染

(11)      concentration[kRnsEn5treIF(E)n]n.集中, 集合, 专心, 浓缩, 浓度

(12)      guerrilla[^E5rIlE]n.游击战, 游击队

(13)      teeter[5ti:tE(r)]v.步履蹒跚, 摇摇欲坠

(14)      demilitarize[di:5mIlItEraIz]vt.解除武装, 废除军备

(15)      kidnap[5kIdnAp]vt.诱拐(小孩), 绑架, 勒赎

 

 

 

 

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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？

4 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

5 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

6 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

7 fumigation   

n.烟熏，熏蒸；忿恨

参考例句：

• We think that the fumigation can be done in a large, round metal container. 我们觉得熏蒸过程可以在一个大圆金属容器内进行。 来自辞典例句
• In the northern states fumigation is needed only after insect outbreaks occur. 在北部各州，只在虫害发生后才进行熏蒸。 来自辞典例句

8 irritations   

n.激怒( irritation的名词复数 )；恼怒；生气；令人恼火的事

参考例句：

• For a time I have forgotten the worries and irritations I was nurturing before. 我暂时忘掉了过去积聚的忧愁和烦躁。 来自辞典例句
• Understanding God's big picture can turn irritations into inspirations. 明了神的蓝图，将使你的烦躁转为灵感。 来自互联网

9 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

12 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

13 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。