2006年VOA标准英语-Rice: Support for Peace Wide in Israel

By David Gollust
State Department
05 January 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she believes Israeli support for peace with the Palestinians is broad-based despite the potential departure from politics of the gravely ill Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. She also says the United States wants to see Palestinian elections go forward as planned this month.

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Condoleezza Rice  
  

Ms. Rice says Americans are praying for Prime Minister Sharon's full recovery from the massive stroke he suffered Wednesday. But she is also expressing confidence that the Israeli people will remain committed to Middle East peace efforts, even if the Prime Minister, the main force behind Israel's withdrawal¹ from Gaza, was no longer on the scene.

Ms. Rice's remarks, in a breakfast talk with State Department reporters, were the most extensive by a senior Bush administration official since word of Mr. Sharon's latest health crisis.

The Secretary hailed the Israeli Prime Minister as a man of courage with a vision of peace based not only on a bedrock commitment to Israeli security, but also a realization² that this security has to include a better future for Palestinians.

Ms. Rice made no reference to news reports that Mr. Sharon's stroke may end his political career and said the U.S. focus, appropriately, is on his recovery, but she made clear her view that Israeli support for policies Mr. Sharon has put in motion is broad based. "That's our focus and it's going to remain our focus," she said.  "I do believe that the desire for peace, the desire for a stable relationship between Israel and the Palestinians is one that runs wide and deep in the Israeli society."

Ms. Rice said the Bush administration remains³ engaged with the Palestinians and that the new U.S. coordinator⁴ for Gaza, Army Major General Keith Dayton, is returning to the area this week to pursue reforms of the Palestinian security forces.

Security problems, mainly in Gaza, have cast a shadow over plans for Palestinian legislative⁵ elections set for January 25. But Ms. Rice said the vote should be held as planned, despite prospects⁶ it could bring gains for the Islamic Hamas movement, listed by the United States as a terrorist group, at the expense of the mainstream⁷ Fatah movement.

"I don't really believe we can favor postponing⁸ elections because we fear an outcome," she added.  "I think that's not appropriate. The Palestinian authority needs to do everything that it can, Fatah needs to do everything that it can, to demonstrate to Palestinian people that life under a freely-elected Palestinian legislative council that would then work with the president that has been elected there, that life will be better, life would be more secure."

Ms. Rice said the United States' position on Hamas has not changed, but that its role in politics is an internal matter for the Palestinians.

At the same time, she pointed⁹ to a statement on the Palestinian elections last week by the United States and its partners in the Middle East Quartet, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

In the statement, the four sponsors of the road map to Middle East peace said all participants in the political process should renounce¹⁰ violence, disarm¹¹, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

The Quartet also said any Palestinian cabinet chosen on the basis of the election should exclude members who have not unequivocally renounced¹² violence and terrorism.

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

11 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

12 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》