2006年VOA标准英语-Pakistani PM in US for White House Talks

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
22 January 2006 
 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (file photo)  
  
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is in the United States for talks Tuesday with President Bush. The recent U.S. missile strike in eastern Pakistan is sure to be a main topic of discussion, along with efforts to help the victims of last October's south Asia earthquake.

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Both sides say they are strong allies in the war on terror. But there has been friction¹ in recent days that is likely to dominate the agenda for the White House talks.

The latest controversy² surrounds a U.S. missile strike on a remote village in eastern Pakistan that was reportedly aimed at leaders of al-Qaida.

Information coming from the region has been slow and sketchy³. But Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz says he has seen no evidence yet to indicate any terrorists were among the dead.

"We do not know who was there. We do not know when they came, if at all," he said. "But if they were there we will find out because our people are investigating. They are going through all the evidence available. And once we find out, we will share it with the world."

Speaking on CNN's Late Edition program, Prime Minister Aziz said his government had no prior knowledge of the attack. He dismissed the notion the Bush administration, while confident of the top Pakistani leadership, feared lower level intelligence and military officials might be sympathetic towards al-Qaida.

"And if you go back in terms of the number of people captured, many have been captured in joint⁴ operations with the United States and other countries and Pakistan, so why not now? If we have worked together, we should work together to get as many people as we can into the hands of the law enforcing agencies because these people are no friends of anyone," said Aziz.

The Pakistani prime minister said for two years, Pakistan has had troops in the remote tribal⁵ areas along the border with Afghanistan looking for members of al-Qaida and other foreign fighters. He denied a front-page report in The New York Times newspaper that the militants⁶ are stronger than ever.

"This is one of the world's worst terrains," said Aziz. "There are no roads. There in no communication system. And we are there out of conviction because we think fighting the war on terror is good for Pakistan and good for the rest of the world."

Prime Minister Aziz acknowledged that recent events have created a sense of outrage⁷ among Pakistanis that has prompted anti-American demonstrations⁸. But he noted⁹ continuing U.S. aid for the victims of last October's earthquake has mitigated¹⁰ some of the anger.

The White House says in addition to the war on terrorism and earthquake reconstruction¹¹, the talks Tuesday will also focus on bilateral¹² trade and economic ties.

1 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 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。

7 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

8 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句

11 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

12 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。