VOA常速英语2007年-US, French Units Move to Prevent Violence in Ko

By Al Pessin
Washington
04 December 2007

The commander of NATO forces says U.S. and French units have been moved to a key outpost in Kosovo to help prevent violence in what he calls the "most volatile¹" region the alliance is dealing² with. But the officer, U.S. General Bantz Craddock, also says community leaders in Kosovo are helping³ in the effort to avoid violence when the deadline for negotiations⁴ on the province's future passes next Monday. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Washington.

General Craddock told reporters at the National Press Club the American and French units have moved to Camp Nothing Hill in northern Kosovo, just 17 kilometers from the Serbian border. The general says those units should be "a very stabilizing⁵ factor," but he is also prepared to send additional forces to Kosovo, if necessary.

"There will be those who want to create mischief⁶, and that will be manifested as strife⁷ and potentially violence, in Kosovo. There will be, then, those who will respond to that, against the advice of, I think, calmer heads to not respond," he said.

General Craddock says community leaders in Kosovo want to avoid violence.

"My conversations with the leaders in Kosovo tell me that they are sincere. They sincerely want to avoid violence, and they will work diligently⁸ to preclude⁹ it," he said.

The NATO commander also expressed concern that if the political situation changes in Kosovo the United Nations mandate¹⁰ for the NATO-led force there might no longer be valid¹¹. There is some concern that if Kosovo's government declares independence, it could not only spark violence, but it might put the status force, known as K-FOR, in some doubt.

"We can conceive of circumstances whereby an adjusted political landscape could pose questions that would have to be raised to the political level urgently, in order to get the necessary guidance for commanders to respond. We at allied¹² command headquarters, my headquarters and K-FOR, are looking to the North Atlantic Council to make decisions and give us the authority, if you will, again, in this very complex, nuanced situation," he said.

The K-FOR commander made a similar appeal last week.

General Craddock says the force has extensive plans for nearly any sequence of events, and has rehearsed its responses to various scenarios¹³. He said he is concerned about paramilitary groups in Serbia that are reportedly preparing for violence, but he says there is good cooperation between the NATO-led force and the Serbian military.

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

7 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

8 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

9 preclude   

vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍

参考例句：

• We try to preclude any possibility of misunderstanding.我们努力排除任何误解的可能性。
• My present finances preclude the possibility of buying a car.按我目前的财务状况我是不可能买车的。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

13 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓