2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Finds Iraq Conference 'Positive'

By Paula Wolfson
Bogota
12 March 2007

President Bush says the Iraq regional conference held Saturday in Baghdad was positive, but he is waiting to see if participants turn their words into action. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the president spoke² in Bogota, Colombia at the midway point of his Latin American tour.

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Presidents Alvaro Uribe (r) and George W. Bush at a joint news conference in Bogota, 11 Mar1 2007

The president's first public comments on the Baghdad meeting came at a press conference with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

"People are now committed publicly to helping⁴ Iraq which was I thought very positive,"said President Bush. "I think the other benefit from the conference is the [Iraqi] government gained some confidence."

President Bush said he thought some momentum⁵ had been created, as participants prepare for a second, ministerial-level gathering⁶. He said the head of the U.S. delegation⁷ for those talks will be Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The president was asked about pledges made in Baghdad by Iran and Syria to help halt the violence plaguing Iraq. He said their words are welcome, but he wants to see action.

"Words are easy to say in politics and international diplomacy," he said. "If they really want to help stabilize⁸ Iraq there are things for them to do, such as cutting off weapons flows and/or the flow of suicide bombers⁹ into Iraq."

In January, Mr. Bush announced he would send an additional 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq to help quell¹⁰ the violence in Baghdad and al-Anbar province. This weekend, he announced he would send 4,700 more. When asked if the increases would continue, the president stressed this latest deployment¹¹ involves units that provide support services to troops in the field

"Those combat troops are going to need, you know, some support, and that's what the American people are seeing in terms of Iraq - the support troops necessary to help the reinforcements do their job," noted¹² President Bush.

The president also used the occasion to urge the U.S. Congress to approve his funding request for the war with no conditions attached. He asked the legislature on Friday for just over $3 billion to pay for the extra deployments he has ordered so far this year. That money is on top of the $93.4-billion war budget currently under debate.

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 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 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。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

9 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 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。