2007年VOA标准英语-US Boosts Military Aid to Israel

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
16 August 2007

The United States has boosted military aid to Israel. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the increase points to growing American concerns over the burgeoning¹ power of Iran.

Nicholas Burns, center, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, left, and Aharon Abramovitz during a news conference in Jerusalem, 16 Aug 2007

Israel and the United States signed an agreement for $30 billion in American military aid to Israel over the next 10 years. That is an increase of 25 percent over the current package. U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns spoke² at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

"The United States of course understands that Israel lives in an increasingly dangerous region," he said.

Burns said the aid is meant to strengthen Israel against a growing strategic threat from Iran.

"The United States and Israel and many of our friends in the Arab world face a situation where Iran is resurgent, where Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability³, where it's seeking to expand its conventional power," he added.

Burns accused Iran and Syria of destabilizing the region.

"There is now a nexus⁴ of cooperation among Iran and Syria, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups who are responsible for the conflicts in this region, and Iran and Syria in particular funding and arming those groups that are terrorist in nature," he said.

The $3 billion annual package will maintain Israel's status as the biggest recipient⁵ of U.S. military aid, followed by Egypt which currently gets $1.3 billion a year. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said the increase in aid will guarantee Israel's strategic superiority in the Middle East, despite upgrades to America's Arab allies.

In part, the increased U.S. aid to Israel is meant to offset⁶ a major American arms deal with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf⁷ states, worth $20 billion over the next 10 years.

1 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

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 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

4 nexus   

n.联系；关系

参考例句：

• Shared ambition is the vital nexus between them.共同的志向是把他们联结在一起的重要纽带。
• Either way,the nexus between the consumer and consumer prices is important.无论那个方面，消费者与消费价格之间的关系是至关重要的。

5 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。