2007年VOA标准英语-African Issues to Dominate Security Council's A

By Suzanne Presto¹
New York
02 August 2007

The Republic of Congo has assumed the rotating presidency² of the United Nations Security Council. VOA's Suzanne Presto in New York reports that Congo indicated that African issues will be high priorities this month.

In a briefing at the United Nations Thursday, Congolese envoy³ Pascal Gayama said the Security Council's workload⁴ in August will likely be light, as the U.N. prepares for the General Assembly in September.

But, Gayama said Sudan's war-torn Darfur region is a top priority. Security Council members will discuss the crisis on August 9.

Speaking through a translator, Gayama said talks taking place this week in Arusha, Tanzania, will focus on the political settlement necessary for peace in Darfur. "We expect a lot from that because, as you know, the solution to the Darfur situation is not a military one. It is political. Otherwise, there would be no solution. So, it is very important that these consultations⁵ be held and that be as successful as we'd hoped," he said.

Earlier this week, the U.N. adopted a resolution to send a peacekeeping force to the Darfur region. As many as 19,000 international hybrid⁶ troops will augment⁷ the current African Union force of 7,000.

An estimated 200,000 people have been killed, and more than two million others have been displaced, in more than four years of fighting in the western Sudanese region.

Gayama said the Council will also discuss the expiration⁸ of the African Union Mission in Somalia, and will informally monitor the volatile⁹ situations in Chad and the Central African Republic. He added that the Council continues to monitor the military conflict between dissident soldiers and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.).

UN sanctions on the D.R.C. are set to expire next week.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 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。

4 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

5 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

7 augment   

vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张

参考例句：

• They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
• The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。

8 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

9 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。