2006年VOA标准英语-France Urges Israel to Reconsider Rejection of

By Jeff Custer
Washington
29 July 2006

Israel's rejection¹ of a U.N.-proposed 72-hour truce² in the conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon has drawn³ criticism from France, which ruled Lebanon between the World Wars. Diplomatic efforts are moving into high gear, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice back in the region for talks with both sides, and efforts under way at the United Nations to begin planning for an international stabilization⁴ force.

-----------

Lebanese citizens search for bodies of victims in the rubble⁵ of a building that was hit by an Israeli warplane  
  
French Foreign Minister Phillipe Douste-Blazy told reporters in Paris that he regrets Israel's rejection of the truce proposal, put forward by U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator⁶ Jan Egeland.

Egeland called for the truce to allow the evacuation of the injured, elderly and children from high-risk zones in Lebanon, and to allow aid to be brought in.

Israel says it has already opened humanitarian⁷ corridors across Lebanon. 

Douste-Blazy says he has not given up hope that Israel will change its mind.

 
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy 
  
The foreign minister says he regrets Israel's position, but says he will, appeal to Israeli authorities to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire.

Meanwhile, efforts are under way to begin planning for an international force. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called for a meeting Monday of U.N. member nations willing to contribute troops to be sent to the Israeli-Lebanon border. He says the force would primarily assist the Lebanese government and army take charge of, and extend its sovereignty over its entire territory.

Mr. Annan says it is time for the international community to act. 

Kofi Annan    
  
"I think the time has come for us to really be action-oriented and concrete steps that can be taken to help protagonists⁸ and the civilians⁹ who are caught in the middle. We've gone beyond statements and exhortations," he said.

Mr. Annan says that, while he was in Europe this week, he spoke¹⁰ with several countries willing to contribute troops to the stabilizing¹¹ force.

President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have already expressed their support for such a multi-national effort. Both leaders have resisted international pressure to call for an immediate¹² cease-fire, however. The say that, instead, they want to focus on the long-term causes of violence in the region.

1 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

2 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。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 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？

7 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。

8 protagonists   

n.（戏剧的）主角( protagonist的名词复数 )；（故事的）主人公；现实事件（尤指冲突和争端的）主要参与者；领导者

参考例句：

• Mrs Pankhurst was one of the chief protagonists of women's rights. 潘克赫斯特太太是女权的主要倡导者之一。 来自辞典例句
• This reflects that Feng Menglong heartily sympathized with these protagonists. 这反映出冯梦龙由衷地同情书中的这些主要人物。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 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。

11 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

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。