2006年VOA标准英语-Top US Official Says Influence of Venezuela's C

By David Gollust
State Department
15 November 2006

A top U.S. State Department official says he thinks Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is losing influence following his verbal attack on President Bush at the United Nations in September. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns says the latest election trend in Latin America is toward moderation.

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Hugo Chavez greets supporters during re-election campaign rally in Caracas, Nov. 1, 2006  
  
Mr. Chavez appears to be headed for a big re-election win when Venezuelans go to the polls Dec. 3.

But the State Department's senior policy official says he believes the regional influence of the Venezuelan leader has begun to erode¹ because of his rhetorical excesses, including a scathing² attack on President Bush at the U.N. General Assembly.

In the Sep. 20 New York speech, Mr. Chavez denounced President Bush as an imperialist "devil" who had devoted³ his years in office to military aggression⁴ and oppression of the world's poor.

At a State Department security forum⁵ for U.S. corporations operating abroad, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicolas Burns said the "objectionable and somewhat ridiculous" Chavez remarks may have been a political turning point for the Venezuelan leader.

He said the speech, seen as exceptionally inflammatory by U.N. standards, back-fired and may have cost Venezuela the regional seat on the U.N. Security Council that it had avidly⁶ sought.

 
Nicholas Burns  
  
"He ran, Venezuela ran, for a seat in the Security Council and they were defeated in large measure probably because of that speech," Burns said.

"Because people see him for what he is. He is somebody who divides, who throws little bombs, rhetorical bombs, into rooms," he continued. "And he seeks to tear people down. But the agenda of the new Mexican government, of President Uribe in Colombia, of President Lula in Brazil, is to build up, is to increase trade and investment, is to reach out to the private sector⁷, is to have a hemisphere that is united with the United States not divided from the United States."

Burns said that earlier this year, he might have accepted the conventional wisdom that Mr. Chavez was on the rise, using petro-dollars to "finance all sorts of nefarious⁸ activities."

But he asserted that Mr. Chavez is now losing influence, and that recent elections in the region, with the exception of last week's Nicaragua vote that brought leftist Daniel Ortega back to power, have been toward what he termed responsible governments of the center-left and center-right.

Burns expressed hope that Bolivian President Ivo Morales, seen as a protégé of Mr. Chavez, will adopt a more integrationist⁹ approach to the rest of the hemisphere and "turn back toward the mainstream¹⁰."

1 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

2 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 avidly   

adv.渴望地，热心地

参考例句：

• She read avidly from an early age—books, magazines, anything. 她从小就酷爱阅读——书籍、杂志，无不涉猎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her melancholy eyes avidly scanned his smiling face. 她说话时两只忧郁的眼睛呆呆地望着他的带笑的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

9 integrationist   

n.主张消除种族隔离的人

参考例句：

10 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。