2006年VOA标准英语-Annan Defends His UN Stewardship

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
19 December 2006

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has used his farewell news conference to defend his stewardship¹ of the world body. VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein reports Mr. Annan is promising² to stay active in world affairs after he steps down at the end of the year.

Kofi Annan

Mr. Annan says the worst moments of his 10 years as U.N. chief were related to the Iraq conflict. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, he lamented³ the organization's inability to prevent the outbreak of war. He winced⁴ as he spoke⁵ of the loss of colleagues and friends in the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad.

But when it came to the Iraq oil-for-food scandal, perhaps the greatest blot⁶ on his record, Mr. Annan was staunchly defensive⁷. He suggested some of the criticism had been unfair. "Yes, there was some mismanagement, but I think when historians look at the records, they will draw the conclusion that, yes, there was mismanagement, there may have been several U.N. staff members that were engaged, but the scandal if any, was in the capitals, and with the 2,200 companies that made a deal with Saddam behind our backs," he said.

He argued that the good the world body has achieved over the past 10 years more than outweighs⁸ the damage done by the oil-for-food scandal. "I hope the historians will realize that the U.N. is more than oil-for-food. The U.N. is a U.N. that coordinates⁹ tsunami¹⁰, the U.N. that deals with the Kashmir earthquake, the U.N. that is pushing for equality and fighting to implement¹¹ the Millennium¹² Development Goals, the U.N. that is fighting for human dignity and the rights of others," he said.

He acknowledged sharp criticism of the U.N. and his stewardship, especially in conservative circles in the United States. But he defended the world body as an indispensable tool in international diplomacy¹³. "What I should say is that those who, instead of working to strengthen the U.N., would want to destroy it or weaken it, they should ask themselves, if the U.N. is no longer here, how do we deal with some of the issues that cross borders. Who is going to speak out and stand up for the poor, the weak and the voiceless. Whom are we going to turn to when you have the Lebanons. We saw it last summer. The U.N. was the only organization that could have stepped in and do what we did," he said.

Mr. Annan says in his final days in office, he hopes to be able to clarify outstanding questions with Sudan's leadership to pave the way for the introduction of blue-helmeted U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

The 68-year-old diplomat¹⁴ promises to continue working to promote causes that have been of concern to him during his 10 years in office. After what he has describes as a "long period underground," he plans to return to public life, speaking from time to time on issues such as human rights, global warming, and the problems of his native Africa. A slight smile crossed his face as he said "I don't think I'm going to fade away. I'm going to continue working."

1 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句

9 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

14 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。