2006年VOA标准英语-Africa Issues Addressed as Congress Winds Down

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
07 December 2006

U.S. lawmakers have focused on two situations in Africa as they wind down their business in the 109th Congress . VOA's Dan Robinson has a report from Capitol Hill.

Refugees from Darfur in an UNHCR camp in Chad

On two issues, the situations in Darfur, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, lawmakers wanted their voices heard before Congress adjourns¹ for the year.

In a news conference, members of the Congressional Black Caucus², representing African-American and other minority lawmakers, reiterated³ their determination to see progress on Darfur in 2007.

Congressman⁴ Donald Payne of New Jersey⁵ says the group intends to continue its efforts to push both the Bush administration, and other governments, to be more aggressive in dealing⁶ with the Darfur situation and the government in Sudan.

"We do expect that we will see results," said Donald Payne. "We are not satisfied of course. As a matter of fact there have been outbreaks between the North and the South [in Sudan] just last week, and that is in violation⁷ of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was signed in Naivasha [Kenya] a year or so ago. And so there is deterioration⁸ and we want to see that stopped and to have a clear picture of where the U.S. and the United Nations and the African Union will be going."

The deterioration he refers to includes an upsurge in violence that forced the United Nations to evacuate⁹ dozens of workers out of the town of El Fasher in Darfur.

 

Recent developments prompted U.N. humanitarian¹⁰ chief Jan Egeland to describe the conflict in Darfur as being in a state of free fall, with spillover effects in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.

In recent months, Black Caucus members met with ambassadors and officials from the Arab League in an effort to step up pressure on the government in Khartoum to allow peacekeeping efforts in Darfur to transition from a seven-thousand-strong African force to a larger United Nations operation.

Congressman Payne did not offer any specifics as to what those talks have produced, but said contacts will continue.

"We will continue top meet with the Arab League," he said. "We had a meeting with the ambassador from the People's Republic of China because of their position in the oil fields in Sudan and this will continue to be a number one issue."

Current Black Caucus chairman Melvin Watt¹¹ informed reporters about another meeting (Wednesday) with President Bush's Sudan envoy¹².

"We will be meeting with Andrew Natsios, President Bush's special envoy to the Sudan," said Melvin Watt. "Many of you know that we have been actively¹³ involved in the Darfur issue, and that is part of our ongoing¹⁴ and continuing effort."

Before lawmakers leave town, they will also have addressed another Africa trouble spot, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting between rebels and government soldiers has also forced thousands from their homes.

The House of Representatives was to approve a bipartisan measure, passed last June by the Senate, called the Congo Relief, Security and Democracy Promotion¹⁵ Act.

In addition to addressing the fighting, it seeks to clarify U.S. political, social, civil and economic goals in that country and says the U.S. should support increased humanitarian and development aid.

However, the non-binding measure states that the government in Kinshasa must be committed to achieving specific objectives international efforts are to be effective, adding that U.S. aid could be halted in the absence of progress.

1 adjourns   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Congress adjourns in 3 weeks, we can't do this alone. 距国会开会只有3个星期，我们不能单干。
• And so, at six in the morning, a victorious Convention adjourns. 这样，早上六点，胜利的国民议会休会了。

2 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

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。

13 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

15 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。