VOA标准英语2008年-Skepticism, Anger Greet Bush in Middle East

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
08 January 2008

U.S. President George Bush is headed to the Middle East for a nine-day visit to press the peace process and to try to convince his Arab allies that Iran remains¹ a threat to regional security.  But the U.S. leader will be greeted by widespread skepticism in the Arab world, where public opinion polls show he remains unpopular.  VOA Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

President Bush's visit to the Middle East comes amid waves of criticism and rancor² from the Arab press.  Newspaper columnists³ note the push for Middle East peace has not begun until the final year of the president's two terms in office. 

Mr. Bush remains one of the least popular world leaders in Arab opinion polls, and is held personally responsible by many in the region for the destabilizing chaos⁴ in Iraq.  In his tour of the region, he will have to overcome widespread skepticism about his new push toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. 

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa acknowledged this when he spoke⁵ to reporters on Sunday, saying everyone - including himself - has lots of suspicions and doubts. 

Moussa said that the United States should bear its responsibilities if it wants to change the situation and the general feeling in the Middle East.

But he also said it is necessary to open diplomatic doors, rather than close them.

He added that it is an important visit and comes at a critical time. 

He notes that Mr. Bush hopes to reach a Middle East peace deal by the end of this year, and has promised to take a comprehensive approach to the peace process.

Analyst⁶ Hassan Abu Taleb, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, agrees with many others that confidence-building is a significant hurdle⁷ for President Bush.  

He says the Arab world wants the American president to express his personal commitment to his vision regarding the establishment of two states, Palestinian and Israeli, as well as his personal concern with overcoming obstacles facing the negotiations⁸.

In addition to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iran remains high on the president's agenda as he tours the region.  Iran's relations with the Gulf⁹ states and Egypt have been warming in recent months.  Mr. Bush has made it clear that he intends to tell his Arab allies that he still views Iran as a threat.

Mr. Bush's first stop will be Israel, but he is also due to visit Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, just days after a Persian Gulf confrontation¹⁰ involving three U.S. warships¹¹ and five speedboats from Iran's Republican Guard.

President Bush is coming to the Middle East amid rising tensions on a number of other fronts, as well.

Two incidents early Tuesday underlined the fragile security situation in Lebanon.  Israel said two rockets fired from south Lebanon slammed into northern Israel, and two U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle.

A Lebanese political crisis has left the country without a president for more than six weeks.  The standoff between the Lebanese opposition¹² and ruling coalition¹³ is seen in part as a proxy¹⁴ for the regional battle for influence between the United States and Europe on the one hand, and Syria and Iran on the other.

Relations between Israel and Egypt are at a low ebb¹⁵, 30 years after the signing of the historic peace accord between the two countries.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly accused Egypt of failing to adequately police the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.  Egypt says the allegations are untrue, and accuses Israel in turn of trying to sabotage¹⁶ Cairo's relationship with Washington.

After leaving Jerusalem on Friday, the president will visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  He returns to Washington on January 17.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 rancor   

n.深仇，积怨

参考例句：

• I have no rancor against him.我对他无怨无仇。
• Their rancor dated from a political dogfight between them.他们的积怨来自于他们之间在政治上的狗咬狗。

3 columnists   

n.专栏作家( columnist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This story will be more fodder for the gossip columnists. 这个传闻会是闲谈专栏作家的又一素材。
• The columnists coined the phrase \"to broderick\", meaning to rough up. 专栏作家们杜撰出一个新词“布罗德里克”意思是“动武”、“打架”。 来自辞典例句

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 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。

6 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。

7 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

8 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。

9 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。

10 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

11 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

15 ebb   

vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态

参考例句：

• The flood and ebb tides alternates with each other.涨潮和落潮交替更迭。
• They swam till the tide began to ebb.他们一直游到开始退潮。

16 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。