VOA常速英语2008年-US Disappointed Over Kenya Impasse, Weighs Pena

By David Gollust
Washington
26 February 2008

The United States is expressing disappointment over the continued political impasse¹ in Kenya following last December's disputed election. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the Bush administration is considering penalties against those responsible. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

U.S. frustration² was reflected in a written statement by Secretary Rice, who said she is disappointed by the failure of Kenya's leaders to resolve remaining issues, and that there is no excuse for further delay or any more violence.

Rice, who is traveling in Asia, issued the statement after a telephone conversation with former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been trying to mediate³ the dispute and has now suspended his talks with the rival parties.

Rice went to Kenya a week ago at the request of President Bush and met with both President Mwai Kibaki and opposition⁴ leader Raila Odinga, whose party claims the December vote was rigged. Post-election violence has killed at least 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

The Secretary said both leaders assured her then of their commitment to work out a power-sharing plan, and that she in turn had pledged additional U.S. assistance to help Kenya rebuild, reconcile, and carry out reforms.

In a clear warning to the parties, Rice said the future of the U.S. relationship with both sides, and their legitimacy⁵, hinges on their cooperation in achieving a political solution, and that the United States is exploring a wide range of possible actions. She said U.S. officials will draw their own conclusions about who is responsible for the lack of progress, and take "necessary steps."

In a talk with reporters, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey declined specifics, but said there are a number of punitive⁶ steps available to underline U.S. displeasure over the state of affairs in Kenya:

"I do not want to define it for you, anymore than to say that you have heard from us previously⁷ that we cannot conduct business as usual in the absence of an agreement among the parties, and we will be looking at a full range of options that are on the table," said Casey."There are a lot of tools in the tool kit⁸."

Casey noted⁹ the United States has already sent letters to several Kenyan political figures, believed to have incited¹⁰ post election violence, warning them they may be declared ineligible¹¹ to travel to the United States.

The spokesman did not rule out cuts in the U.S. aid program to Kenya.

But he said the great majority of that program is devoted¹² to basic humanitarian¹³ projects including dealing¹⁴ with HIV/AIDS. He said no one in Washington believes the Kenyan people should be punished for the failure of their political leaders.

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

4 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。

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

6 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

11 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。