2007年VOA标准英语-Leaders Debate Unified African State at AU Summ

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
02 July 2007

Many heads of state are advocating a moderate, step-by-step approach to continental¹ integration² at the African Union summit in Ghana's capital, Accra. The summit, which continues until Tuesday, aims to debate the possibility of forming a single African state. For VOA, Naomi Schwarz has more from Dakar.

Heads of state and government pose for a group photo at the international conference centre in Accra, 01 Jul 2007, after the opening of the African Union summit

Dozens of African heads of state, including Libya's president Muammar Gaddafi, South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak are in attendance at the African Union Summit in Ghana.

Africa Confidential³ analyst⁴ Patrick Smith says it is one of the best attended AU summits ever.

"I think one of the reasons is it has got a historical significance, because this is the 50th year since Ghana became independent, and is regarded as a key date in African history," said Smith.

But Smith says another reason for the high attendance is the topic at hand: pan-continental unity⁵, or as Mr. Gaddafi has called it, the United States of Africa. The idea, espoused⁶ by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, has been periodically debated ever since.

Smith says meetings have shown that most heads of state are in favor of continental unity. They see the European Union and the United States of America as examples of the power that can come from regional cooperation.

But Smith says few heads of state support the radical⁷, all-in-one approach advocated by Mr. Gaddafi, who toured several West African states last week drumming up support for his proposal.

"You have got a sort of continuum of views from the more moderate, piece by piece view that president Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is espousing⁸, saying that you have got to build the foundation to the house before you can put the roof on it, and then you have got the do it all in one go, right away, which is the view espoused by the leader of Libya," said Smith.

The discussions aim to address all aspects of the issue, from philosophical⁹ questions to logistical ones, such as how to integrate the governance of more than 50 countries, on a continent still divided by war and struggling with poverty and development issues.

But many Africans say there are many more important issues to discuss than continental unity.

"I think that before having a continental government we have some problems to resolve, like [the] Darfur crisis, like a lot of issues. I think that realistically, it is not the time to discuss it, if we want to have a very efficient body," said Saidou Arji is, a Ghana-based human rights activist¹⁰.

Arji says other important issues to discuss include the situation in Zimbabwe, whose citizens are suffering from crippling unemployment, rising fuel and food prices, and the world's highest inflation rate. Human rights issues across the continent also are high on his agenda, including in Libya.

Smith says many of these issues will be addressed at least briefly¹¹ over the course of the summit. Mr. Mbeki has said he will deliver a progress report on negotiations¹² in Zimbabwe, and the heads of state will also need to discuss financing for the proposed cooperative peacekeeping force from the African Union and the United Nations in Darfur.

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

3 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 espousing   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

9 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。