2007年VOA标准英语-Rice: President Chavez Policies 'Destroying' Ve

By David Gollust
State Department
07 February 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the policies of Venezuela's populist leader Hugo Chavez are "destroying" the South American country. In congressional testimony¹, Rice said the ongoing² U.S. feud³ with Mr. Chavez is deflecting⁴ attention from the good relationship the Bush administration has established with other leftist governments in the region. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Bush administration spokesmen have warned that recent moves by the Chavez government, including nationalization of oil and utility assets, would prove to be counterproductive.

 
Condoleezza Rice testifies before House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, 7 Feb 2007 

But in an appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rice went farther, saying the Venezuelan leader's policies were destructive to the country's interests.

Asked by Florida Republican Congressman⁵ Connie Mack whether she thought Venezuela was heading toward dictatorship, the secretary of state said there is "an assault on democracy" and significant human rights issues in that country and that it is a major topic in U.S. contacts with other regional governments.

"We raise these issues in the Organization of American States at all times, and with all the states of the region," she said.  "I do believe that the president of Venezuela is really destroying his own country, economically, politically, and this is a place with which we've traditionally had very good relations and would like to continue to have good relations."

Despite her comments, Rice said she wanted to avoid getting into a "rhetorical contest" with Mr. Chavez.

She said that takes attention away from what she said was a very positive U.S. agenda in Latin America, and the fact that the Bush administration has worked well with other left-of-center governments, including those of Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

 
Hugo Chavez
U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been troubled since 2002, when Mr. Chavez accused the Bush administration of supporting a military coup⁶ that briefly⁷ drove him from power.

U.S. officials denied that allegation. They have since accused Mr. Chavez of, among other things, meddling⁸ in the affairs of neighboring countries and engaging in an out-sized military buildup.

The verbal sparring reached a new level last September when, in a policy speech to the U.N. General Assembly, the Venezuelan leader referred to President Bush as "the devil."

In her Congressional testimony, Rice said Mr. Chavez "did himself no good" with the General Assembly speech and undermined what proved to be a losing effort by Venezuela to win a seat on the U.N. Security Council.

She said Venezuela is in a "negative transition" and that the United States, in its aid program to the country, aims to support non-governmental groups trying to resist that trend and preserve democracy.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

4 deflecting   

（使）偏斜， （使）偏离， （使）转向( deflect的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A variety of mechanical surfaces have been employed for deflecting the exhaust jets of solid-propellant rockets. 人们已经用过各种类型的机械控制面来偏转固体推进剂火箭的排气流。
• If she made a leading statement, he was expert deflecting her into more impersonal channels. 只要她一开口，他就会巧妙地把她的话题转到与个人无关的问题上去。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句