VOA常速英语2007-Bush Meets Iraq's President

By Scott Stearns
White House
02 October 2007

President Bush welcomed Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to the Oval Office to discuss a stable future for the turbulent country.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

 White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino says the two leaders met for about an hour for talks on legislation that would  share oil revenue, authorize² provincial³ elections, and allow members of Saddam Hussein's former ruling party to hold jobs in the current government.

"The president said how important it is that the Iraqi parliament pass these laws, and President Talabani agreed," Perino said. "They also spoke¹ about the importance of an enduring partnership⁴ between our two countries as Iraq will be a bulwark⁵ against terrorism and extremism in the region."

Perino says the American leader gave his Iraqi counterpart no deadlines for passing the bills.  Those are the same three issues President Bush said he believed Iraqi leaders were making progress toward when he announced that he was sending more troops to Iraq earlier this year.

Some of the reinforcements will soon be coming home, leaving what Perino describes as a series of complicated issues still to be decided⁶.

"They are starting to move forward. I understand the frustration⁷ and the impatience⁸.  I think that they are moving in the right direction," Perino said.

Congress is currently considering the president's request for $190 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Public opinion polls show most Americans want that cut.

A survey by the Washington Post and ABC News says only 27 percent of Americans want Congress to approve all of the money.  The survey put the president's approval rating at 33 percent, his lowest number ever in that poll.

The president is trying to rebuild public support for the Iraq war by saying that it is making America safer and continuing progress there will allow him to bring more troops home next year.

Spokeswoman Perino says the president knows the war is unpopular, but he is convinced that helping⁹ Iraq's government will contribute to regional stability.

"The president understands that the American people are impatient, but more importantly, he also understands that the Iraqi people are also impatient with their government," Perino said. "And having two leaders get together to talk about how do you push and make sure that this is all going in the right direction and that they achieve what they work to achieve on these three bills, I think that it is very worthwhile for the president to meet with President Talabani."

Perino says neither President Talabani nor President Bush brought up the issue of the private security firm Blackwater USA, which is under investigation¹⁰ for killing¹¹ Iraqi civilians¹² while providing security for American diplomats¹³ in Iraq. 

1 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。

2 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

9 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。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 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。

13 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》