2006年VOA标准英语-US, Britain Urge Iraq's Leaders to Settle

By Purnell Murdock
Washington
03 April 2006
 

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, second right and British Foreign Secretary Jack¹ Straw in Iraq Sunday April 2, 2006  
  
The United States and Britain are urging Iraq's leaders to settle their political differences and form a national unity² government as quickly as possible, to stem the tide of violence in Iraq. 

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The message from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw during two days of talks with Iraq's political leaders in Baghdad was stark³ and direct. 

Straw told reporters Monday the political vacuum left without a government three-and-a-half months after elections is undermining Iraq's security.

"It is now crucial that they (Iraqis) move quickly to ensure the nominations⁴ of the senior positions, have those agreed and then agree the cabinet, because there is frankly⁵ no doubt that the political vacuum that is there at the moment is not assisting the security situation and the country has got to move forward," Straw says.

Iraq's political stalemate centers on who will lead a new government.  The Shi'ite coalition⁶ that won the mid-December elections has named Ibrahim al-Jaafari the acting⁷ prime minister, but his candidacy for a full four-year appointment has attracted strong opposition⁸ from Iraqi Kurds and the country's Sunni Muslims.

Rice and Straw emphasized that it is up to the Iraqis to decide on their new prime minister.  However, they added that the next head of government must be a strong leader -- a unifying⁹ force who can bring stability and face the challenges of the Iraqi people.

The American and British envoys¹⁰ have been meeting with senior Iraqi figures since they arrived in the country, Sunday.  Secretary of State Rice says Washington and London are not trying to dictate¹¹ who should be Iraq's prime minister, but that the blood shed by American and British soldiers in Iraq gives the allies the right to press for action on the political front.

"The goal of our presence here, the goal of our having liberated¹² this country from Saddam Hussein is not the leave the job undone," Rice says. "The goal is to leave the foundation for a democratic and stable Iraq.  Because once that democratic and stable Iraq is in place you will have a different kind of Middle East and our own security will be much stronger."

Sectarian violence has spiraled since a Shi'ite shrine¹³ was bombed on February 22nd.  Many Iraqis and foreign governments have said the only way to curtail¹⁴ the bloodshed and avert¹⁵ a possible civil war is to establish an inclusive coalition government. 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

10 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

11 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

12 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

13 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

14 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

15 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。