2006年VOA标准英语-Lebanon, North Korea Dominate Asia Security Tal

By Heda Bayron
Kuala Lumpur
28 July 2006
 
Lebanon and North Korea dominated talks among senior diplomats¹ from more than 20 Asian and Western countries at a regional security forum² in Kuala Lumpur. The forum failed to help break the stalemate on the North Korean nuclear issue, and it highlighted differences between the United States and other nations on how to deal with the Middle East crisis.

---------

Condoleezza Rice speaks during press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Friday
   
  
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reassured³ the senior diplomats at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum Friday that Washington will work toward a lasting⁴ peace in the Middle East.

"We hope to achieve an early end to this violence," she said.

But other nations at the forum called on the U.S. to support an immediate⁵ and unconditional⁶ cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants⁸.

North Korea's foreign minister, meanwhile, refused invitations by China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States to join in an informal gathering⁹ of the nations involved in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told the forum that even one day is too long without a cease-fire in the Middle East.

"We cannot just expect a long-term solution to be found, while the humanitarian¹⁰ dimension in Lebanon, and also in Palestine, is being ignored," he said. "There is a need for peace, but there's a more urgent need for an immediate cease-fire."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
   
  
On the sidelines of the forum, the foreign ministers of Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia met with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to add a Muslim voice to concerns about the violence.

Iran is a major supporter of the Lebanese militant⁷ group, Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, both of which are involved in military exchanges with Israel.

Hamid says he conveyed a message to Rice from the five nations -- a cease-fire first, and then work toward a lasting peace.

He expressed concern about building anger in the Muslim world over Israel's actions.

"We do not want the situation to escalate¹¹ and that the anger is transmitted to all Muslim countries," he noted¹².

Malaysia also called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference executive committee next week in Kuala Lumpur.

The forum expressed its concern about North Korea's recent test launch of seven missiles, which added to already existing worries about the country's nuclear weapons programs.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter MacKay (L) shakes hands with Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar after signing ASEAN-Canada joint¹³ declaration for cooperation to combat international terrorism
   
  
When North Korea refused to participate in talks about its weapons systems, the talks went on without it. Secretary Rice and the foreign ministers of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia met with officials of Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Canada and Malaysia to discuss the issue.

Secretary Rice again called on Pyongyang to return to the negotiations¹⁴.

"I want to reiterate¹⁵ that the United States remains¹⁶ ready at any time, at any time, and without any conditions, to engage in those discussions," she said.

The North Korean delegation¹⁷ repeated that it would not return to the nuclear talks, until economic sanctions imposed on the country by the United States are lifted.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 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。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 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。

11 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

16 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。

17 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。