2007年VOA标准英语-Rice Begins Peace Mission as Israel Declares Ga

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
19 September 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun a two-day peace mission to the Middle East. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, her visit coincided with an unexpected Israeli announcement of a tightening¹ of economic sanctions on the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem as Israel's Cabinet declared Gaza an "enemy entity²." The decision, which came in response to Palestinian rocket attacks, means that Israel could restrict the flow of vital supplies to Gaza, including electricity, water and fuel. The aim is to pressure the ruling Islamic militant³ group Hamas in Gaza to halt the rocket attacks.

Rice was asked about the decision at a Jerusalem news conference.

"It's no secret that the United States declares Hamas a terrorist organization, and that we've been troubled by the fact that Hamas did what they did in the Gaza against the legitimate⁴ institutions of the Palestinian Authority," she said.

Rice was referring to the violent takeover of the Gaza Strip, three months ago, by the Islamic militant group, which routed the forces of the rival and more moderate Fatah faction⁵, led by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas. 

Rice spoke⁶ after meeting with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said the new measures against Hamas are justified⁷ because Israel pulled out of Gaza two years ago.

"Even though we hoped that while taking our forces out of [the] Gaza Strip that this can be the beginning of the creation of a Palestinian state which I hope will live in peace with Israel, what we got in return are terror attacks, daily terror attacks, on Israeli citizens," Livni said.

Hamas described the Cabinet decision as a declaration of war, and said the Palestinian people would not bow to Israeli attempts to starve them into submission⁸.

The feud⁹ overshadowed the original purpose of Rice's visit, getting Israel and the Abbas government in the West Bank to hammer out a joint¹⁰ document on Palestinian statehood. 

"We want to be as supportive as possible of this bilateral¹¹ dialogue. We are hopeful that it can move forward to common understandings of a way forward to the creation of a Palestinian state so that two states can live side by side in peace and freedom," Rice said.

The gaps remain wide. Israel wants a vague declaration of principles on Palestinian statehood. The Palestinians want a binding¹² agreement on core issues such as Jerusalem, refugees and final borders.

1 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

2 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

6 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。

7 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

8 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

9 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

10 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。

11 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。