2007年VOA标准英语-Liberia's President Looks for Help In Washingto

By Marissa Melton
Washington
12 February 2007

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is in the United States this week to lobby for international aid for her country for the coming year. Liberia is struggling to recover from 14 years of civil strife² that ran up colossal³ debt and ravaged⁴ the country's infrastructure⁵. VOA's Marissa Melton reports.

Mar1 2006)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070521/0906330.jpg" width="200" vspace="2" border="0" />

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at VOA (21 Mar 2006)

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf began her week in Washington at a conference hosted by the Center for Global Development. She was joined at the podium by her finance minister, Antoinette Sayeh, and Congressman⁶ Jesse Jackson, Jr., a Democrat⁷ from Illinois.

Jackson, who is the son of activist⁸ and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, is a past supporter of aid for Liberia. He said he plans to push for Congress to renew its pledge of aid to the nation for the coming year. He noted⁹ that Liberia is still crippled by the ravages¹⁰ of the past, despite the presence of a U.N. peacekeeping mission.

"After two decades of dictatorship and civil war, one can not help but be deeply concerned about the fragile status of Liberia," said Jesse Jackson, Jr. "Moreover, 85 percent of Liberia's population is unemployed¹¹, and 75 percent live on less than a dollar a day. Liberia needs jobs, basic infrastructure like electricity and roads, security to complement¹² and eventually replace the U.N. mission, and debt forgiveness to stimulate¹³ foreign investment and provide Liberia the ability to invest in her people."

Liberia's international debt amounts to $3.7 billion. That is about eight times the nation's gross domestic product. The debt is rising as interest and nonpayment penalties accumulate, making it all but impossible for Liberia to repay.

President Johnson Sirleaf has been pushing aggressively for debt forgiveness from Liberia's creditors¹⁴, such as the World Bank, International Monetary¹⁵ Fund, and individual nations such as the United States. She said she is in the United States this week to demonstrate the progress Liberia has made during the past year and encourage new funding as well as debt cancellation¹⁶.

She said Liberia could be an international model for a nation rebuilding.

"There are many countries around the world that are trying to emerge from conflict and build democratic, accountable governments with peace, security, and economic opportunities for all," said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. "Many of these countries are struggling and the International community has not always been successful in supporting them. We believe that Liberia can be an example in the West Africa region, to the continent, and to the world, that war-torn dictatorships can turn around and become responsible members of the international community."

She also repeated the call for her major goal:

"It is time to drop the debt," she said.

The Liberian government is chairing a donors¹⁷' conference - or what it calls a "partners' forum¹⁸" - on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. Representatives from the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank, European Commission, United Nations and United States are expected to attend. Wednesday, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf meets with President Bush to brief him on Liberia's progress during her first year in office.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 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。

3 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

4 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 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。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

11 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

12 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

13 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

14 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

16 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

17 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。