2006年VOA标准英语-Former President Clinton Holds His Second Globa

By Kane Farabaugh
New York, NY
25 September 2006
 
watch Clinton Global Initiative

For the second year, former President Bill Clinton is seizing an opportunity in New York.  Inviting¹ world leaders in town for the General Assembly to join business executives and private groups, the former president hopes the commitments made at this year's Clinton Global Initiative will build on the effort to resolve some of the world's most pressing issues. 

The Clinton Global Initiative, or CGI, is the former president's non-partisan effort to take on the biggest challenges, in big and small ways.

 
Bill Clinton
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton describes the organization's mission. "CGI was designed to tackle big global challenges in bite-sized pieces with the conviction that, regardless of size or scope, our problems will yield to concerted action and innovative² partnerships³ of individuals, NGO's (non-government organizations), businesses and governments."

After Clinton launched the initiative in 2005, more than 300 commitments brought in over $2 billion.  By the second day of this year's conference the amount of money had tripled last year's efforts, thanks in part to a $3 billion pledge by British tycoon⁴ Richard Branson to develop environmentally friendly fuels.

Other commitments yielded $2billion towards efforts such as promoting global health and alleviating⁵ poverty.  One of those efforts is a $16 million commitment announced by first lady Laura Bush.  Provided by the United States and two private foundations, the money will go towards clean drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa -- powered by children.

 
Bill Clinton and Laura Bush 
First lady Laura Bush explains. "Play pumps are children's merry-go-rounds attached to a water pump in a storage tank.  When the wheel turns, clean drinking water is produced.  Play pumps are fueled by a limitless energy source, children at play."

Some foreign leaders took the opportunity to use the CGI as a stage to address current events. 

Participating in a panel discussion called "Urgent Issues and Innovative Solutions," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf denied media reports that the Taleban is conducting operations in Afghanistan from bases in his country.

"But Taleban, under the commander and control of Mullah Omar, is in the southern provinces of Afghanistan -- in Khandahar region and below.  Mullah Omar has never come into Pakistan since 1995 when he initiated⁶ this movement in Afghanistan."

Musharraf explained that helping⁷ the Muslim world escape from poverty includes helping them realize that "modernization⁸ is not westernization."  He also made pointed⁹ statements about combating terrorism in the world.

 
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, panel speaker
"We cannot put the cart before the horse by going after Iraq or Lebanon or Afghanistan without solving the Palestinian dispute…. It lies at the core... it lies at the core of everything.  It lies at the core of terrorism and extremism in Pakistan, in Afghanistan; it lies at the core of whatever is happening in Iraq and what is happening in Lebanon.  So let's go to the solution of the Palestinian dispute.  Other things will themselves fall in line."

The group Seeds of Peace stepped forward at the CGI with a commitment to help deal with the Palestinian issue. The group is funding a $1.2 million institute to provide advanced negotiation¹⁰ and mediation¹¹ training to university- aged¹² Israelis and Palestinians.

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

3 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

4 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

5 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

11 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

12 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。