2007年VOA标准英语-US Supports Internationally Supervised Independ

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
04 April 2007

The top U.S. envoy¹ for final status talks on the Serbian province of Kosovo says he fully² supports the U.N.-administered region's independence, under supervision³ of the international community.  VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story. 

Kosovo

U.S. Ambassador Frank Wisner says it is time to resolve the status of Kosovo, which has been in question since a U.S.-led war in 1999 to stop Serbian atrocities⁴ against the ethnic⁵-Albanian population.

"Eight years have gone by," he said.  "Eight years, and now frankly⁶, after eight years, one needs to move on and get a settlement."

Wisner fully supported the plan that U.N. special envoy for Kosovo Martii Ahtisaari outlined Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council, which will have the final say on the proposal.   

Ethnic Albanians make up the bulk of Kosovo's population and have urged independence. 

The Ahtisaari proposal does not recommend the province's outright⁷ independence, but grants it so-called "supervised independence" which would put it on the road to statehood.  It also calls for broad rights for the minority Serbs in the province, allowing them to preserve their culture and identity, and run their own municipalities.

Belgrade, with the support of Russia, wants Kosovo to remain an autonomous⁸ region of Serbia and has rejected the Ahtisaari plan. 

Moscow's objection to the plan is seen as one of the main stumbling blocks.  Russia is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and therefore can veto any proposal.

Wisner said Russia joined the Ahtisaari negotiations⁹ on Kosovo when they began more than one year ago.  He said the U.S. government hopes for a diplomatic solution and to, in his words, "end this association over Kosovo in the same spirit of collaboration¹⁰ and cooperation that we began it."

"We believe that it is right to talk, think this through very carefully, work closely together," he added. 

He indicated that President Bush has called President Putin to discuss the Kosovo issue, and that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns has been meeting with Russian officials in New York.

But when asked by a reporter what Washington thinks of a Russian request for more time for talks on Kosovo, Wisner said, "The possibility of reaching any different conclusion has been exhausted¹¹."  He pointed¹² out that there have been 15 months of negotiations, and warned that if they were begun again, the end point could be worse.

The U.N. Security Council debate on Kosovo opened Monday.  The international body will consider the Ahtisaari proposal and draft a resolution, a process that Wisner indicated could still take some time.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

4 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

9 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。

10 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

11 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。