2006年VOA标准英语-Rice in Israel for Talks on Conflict With Hezbo

By Sonja Pace
Jerusalem
24 July 2006

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is in Israel for talks on how to end the conflict with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. The secretary's visit comes as the violence enters its second week amid continued cross-border attacks and ground fighting.

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Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni, right, meets U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem   
  
Speaking to reporters before her meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Secretary Rice said there is great sympathy for the innocent civilians¹ caught up in the conflict, but she said, any cease-fire must be sustainable and work toward long-term peace in the region. "If we have learned anything, it is that any peace is going to have to be based on enduring principles and not temporary solutions. We will talk about how to get an enduring cessation of violence, how to deal with the significant humanitarian² problems that are currently facing the people of Lebanon," she said.

Washington remains³ adamant⁴ any cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants⁵ must not leave Hezbollah in place as an armed militia⁶ along the border, able to threaten Israel at any time.

But the growing humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is also on the agenda. The White House announced that President Bush has ordered helicopters and ships to Lebanon to provide immediate⁷ assistance.

In Lebanon, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator⁸, Jan Egeland announced an appeal for $150 million in aid for the Lebanese people. "Eight hundred thousand are now displaced or in desperate need of international humanitarian assistance. But, of course, we're also asking for a cessation of hostilities⁹. Far too many civilians are suffering - both in northern Israel and all over here in Lebanon," he said.

As the conflict enters its second week, nearly 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them civilians and among them many children. Around 40 civilians and soldiers have been killed in Israel.

As Rice traveled to the region, Israeli warplanes continued to launch raids into southern Lebanon, troops battled Hezbollah fighters in the far south and Hezbollah sent rockets into northern Israel.

Rice meets here Tuesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and then also holds talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before traveling on to Rome for a Lebanon conference on Wednesday.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 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。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• 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。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。