VOA常速英语2007年-Commonwealth Picks Indian Diplomat as New Leade

By Malcolm Webb
Kampala
24 November 2007

The British Commonwealth¹ has appointed Indian diplomat² Kamalesh Sharmar as its new secretary-general. The appointment was made at the Commonwealth summit currently underway in Uganda. Malcolm Webb reports for VOA from Kampala.

Sharmar was unanimously elected by the 53 member states of the Commonwealth on the second day of their heads of government meeting in the Ugandan capital Kampala

Sharmar, the Indian High Commissioner³ to London, will be the organization's first Asian secretary-general. He was chosen over Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and will take over April 1 from the current secretary-general, New Zealand's Don Mckinnon.

At a news conference following his appointment, Sharmar said the Commonwealth is a global good, and he will take on the position with enthusiasm and confidence. He spoke⁴ about the benefits the Commonwealth can bring to its smaller and poorer members, such as the Caribbean Island countries.

"We should try and see where we can further assist aid for trade," said Shamar. "We have talked about, for instance, how can we do trade facilitation, how can we give help so that small states have exportable goods."

"I am very particular in emphasizing on the area of services, because services is now a globally burgeoning⁵ industry. I think the 21st century is going to be a much trading century in services, if not more than in goods," he added.

International development consultant⁶ Peter Robbins has worked in several Commonwealth countries, advising governments on economic and trade policy. Speaking by phone from London, he said the British Commonwealth lacks the influence and ability it once had to support the development of its member countries.

"Theoretically the Commonwealth could be a very important institution because it has got very wealthy countries within it, like Britain, and the newly emerging countries like India, as well as poor countries," said Robbins. "Really they could be a very useful self-help group of countries, but in fact their various trade advantages that once were there have really become subservient⁷ to the World Trade organization rules."

As well as electing a new leader, Commonwealth leaders Saturday issued a statement on climate change. The new secretary-general had said he expected Commonwealth leaders to agree on a strong statement, but the statement contained only vague language and did not suggest a move towards binding⁸ international agreements.

1 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 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。

5 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

6 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

7 subservient   

adj.卑屈的，阿谀的

参考例句：

• He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
• It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚，真是太可怕了。

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。