VOA标准英语2008年-Bush: 'Difficult Choices' Needed for Israeli-Pa

By VOA News
11 January 2008
 
President Bush says both Palestinians and Israelis have difficult choices and painful concessions¹ to make if they are to reach a lasting² peace agreement.

Speaking in Jerusalem Thursday, the U.S. president called on Israel to end its 40-year occupation of Palestinian territory. He urged the two sides to agree on border adjustments and said Palestinian refugees and their descendants should be compensated³ for the homes they left decades ago in what is now Israel.

Mr. Bush gave an outline of the two-state peace agreement he hopes will be reached this year - before he leaves office - after two days of separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Friday, the president will visit Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust⁴ memorial and holy sites in the Galilee region before leaving for Kuwait to begin a round of visits to Arab capitals.

After Kuwait, the president's Middle East tour will take him to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Thursday, Mr. Bush met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the West Bank headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, then visited Bethlehem, the town that Christians⁵ revere⁶ as the birthplace of Jesus.

Mr. Bush says he is confident that an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty can be reached this year. President Abbas said he agrees that 2008 should be a year of peace, adding, "Peace in the world starts from here - from the Holy Land."

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six-Day War. Mr. Bush said the future of Jerusalem, claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital, will be one of the most difficult challenges on the road to a peace agreement.

In his outline view of a future peace, Mr. Bush said Israel must have secure, recognized and defensible borders, and a Palestinian state must be viable⁷, contiguous and sovereign.

1 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

4 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。