2006年VOA标准英语-Rice, in Malaysia, Considers Return to Middle E

By David Gollust
State Department
27 July 2006
 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to decide Friday whether to pay a return trip to the Middle East to try to help broker¹ a durable² cease-fire in the Lebanon conflict. The Secretary has been consulting with ASEAN leaders in Kuala Lumpur after an initial crisis visit to the region earlier this week.

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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice   
  
Secretary Rice sent two top U.S. envoys³ - Assistant Secretary David Welch and White House Middle East policy chief Elliott Abrams - to the region after attending the emergency conference on the Lebanon fighting in Rome Wednesday.

Officials here say she will make a decision in Malaysia Friday, based on consultations⁴ with them, on whether a return trip to the Middle East might help achieve an end to the fighting.

Although the Rome meeting was labeled a failure because it did not yield a cease-fire plan, U.S. officials say it did make progress toward a truce⁵ accord and on a possible new international force to help keep the peace between Israel and Hezbollah.

Rice said in Malaysia Thursday she had not yet made a decision about further travel, but she has shelved plans for what was to have been a more extensive Asia visit to clear the way for more face-to-face Middle East diplomacy⁶.

She began her initial trip Monday with a stop in Beirut and then went to Jerusalem to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders before heading to Rome. At a news briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said she will go back if she thinks she can have a positive impact on the situation:

"She's going to go if she feels she has a positive contribution to make to achieving a lasting⁷ and enduring end to the violence," he said.  "I think we've made some very good progress and had some real success coming out of Rome. We now have these other senior officials working in the region on follow-up to that, and I think she'll make her evaluation⁸ in part based on what she hears from them as to how and whether she at this particular moment would be able to help move that process forward through her presence."

While envoys Welch and Abrams held talks with leaders in the region, State Department Counselor⁹ Philip Zelikow met with European Union and NATO officials in Brussels Thursday on the possible make-up and role of a new peacekeeping force for southern Lebanon.

There was broad agreement at the Rome meeting on the need for such a force, but there was no apparent progress on determining what countries might participate.

 
Collapsed¹⁰ apartment building in southern suburbs of Beirut 
  
The United States came under criticism in Rome for refusing to endorse¹¹ an immediate¹² cease-fire, but Rice told reporters no cease-fire could be arranged until conditions were right to guarantee that it would hold.

President Bush reiterated¹³ that stand in White House comments Thursday, saying he was troubled by the destruction Israeli attacks have caused in Lebanon, but that he rejected any fake peace that does not tackle the conflict's root causes.

The United States wants to see a solution that includes the full implementation¹⁴ of U.N. Security Council Resolution 15-59 of September 2004, which among other things calls for the disarming¹⁵ of remaining Lebanese militias¹⁶ including Hezbollah and the deployment¹⁷ of the Lebanese army to the border with Israel.

In the absence of Lebanese forces, Hezbollah has been in control of the border region since Israel dismantled¹⁸ its self-proclaimed Lebanese security zone and withdrew to the international boundary in 2000.

1 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

2 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

3 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。

4 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

6 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。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

9 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

12 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。

13 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。

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

16 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

17 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

18 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。