2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Concerned About Efforts to Derail Progress

By Scott Stearns
White House
06 July 2006
 
President Bush says he is concerned about efforts to derail progress in Iraq, as the new government there works to establish more security. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush met in the Oval Office with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

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Zalmay Khalilzad, left, speaks to reporters after his meeting with President Bush  
  
President Bush met with Ambassador Khalilzad alongside Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor¹ Stephen Hadley.

They reviewed what the president called a realistic report from the ambassador about the challenges facing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

"On the one hand, he said they got a good government - goal-oriented people working to achieve certain objectives," said Mr. Bush.  "And I know that you have been impressed by Prime Minister Maliki's determination to succeed and his willingness to lay out a common-sense agenda and then hold people to account.  Zal also said it is still a dangerous place because there are people there who will do anything to stop the progress of this new government. You have to ask yourself, who's afraid of democracy?"

The president said he is concerned about foreign influences in Iraq, especially those in the neighborhood who he said might want to derail the progress of a free government.

Mr. Bush did not name names, but U.S. officials have expressed concerns about Syrian and Iranian influence in Iraq, where more than 130,000 U.S. troops still provide most of the security.

The president said, when America gives its word, it keeps its word, and American troops will help defend the Iraqi people, until the new government there is more capable of defending itself.

Khalilzad said U.S. officials are working hard to make sure that the new government in Iraq succeeds, because success there, he says, will solve problems elsewhere.

"Iraq is the defining challenge of our time," he said.  "And what happens in Iraq will shape the future of the Middle East. And the future of the Middle East will shape the future of the world."

The president says they discussed the need to train more Iraqi police.

Neither of the men took questions nor spoke² publicly about a former U.S. soldier in Iraq who is now facing charges of murder for the alleged³ rape⁴ and killing⁵ of an Iraqi girl.

Prime Minister Maliki Thursday repeated calls for an independent inquiry⁶ into the allegations, which include accusations⁷ that the Army private also killed three of the girl's family members before raping⁸ and killing her in their home south of Baghdad.
  
A written statement from the U.S. military command in Iraq said the alleged events of that day are absolutely inexcusable and unnacceptable. It said military investigators⁹ will fully¹⁰ pursue all the facts in a vigorous and open process.

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 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。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。