VOA常速英语2008年-Rice Urges Israelis, Palestinians to Resume Pea

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
04 March 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for an end to Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli cities near the Gaza Strip and has urged Israel to try harder to reduce civilian¹ casualties in its military response. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports Rice spoke² in Cairo after meeting with top Egyptian officials in an effort to salvage³ Middle East peace negotiations⁴.

Secretary Rice called for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume, saying the situation in the Middle East needs negotiations, not finger-pointing.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas broke off negotiations with Israel because of an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 100 Palestinians in the past week, about half of them civilians⁵.

Speaking to reporters in Cairo alongside the Egyptian foreign minister, Rice said Israel has the right to defend its citizens from rockets attacks that have originated in Gaza, saying no Israeli government could tolerate that.

"There needs to be a stop to the rockets, and there needs to be an awareness⁶ of what is happening to innocent civilians and an effort to prevent innocent people from being harmed," said Rice. "Now there also needs to be an active peace process, and that active peace process is going to have to withstand efforts by rejectionists to keep peace from being made."

Neither Rice nor her Egyptian counterpart called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza on Monday, but Israeli officials have indicated they could be sent back in.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit criticized what he called Israel's unequal use of force and exaggerated military response to the situation in Gaza.

He said Hamas is part of the Palestinian equation and will eventually have to be dealt with and brought into the peace process. "It will be a 'must' that Hamas will have to be convinced to come on board," he noted⁷. "If they will mend their ways, and if that [resorting] violence and military action - if that comes to an end - then that will be opening the way for Hamas to join."

Rice refused to comment directly on a story published Monday in the American magazine Vanity Fair that said the United States and Fatah had planned to overthrow⁸ Hamas after the group won a majority in the Palestinian legislature in 2006.

Rice blamed the crisis in Gaza on Hamas and said the United States and other Western nations will likely continue to train and equip the Palestinian Authority security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah-led government controls the West Bank.

"So if the answer is that Hamas gets armed by the Iranians, and nobody helps to improve the security capabilities⁹ of the legitimate¹⁰ Palestinian Authority security forces, that is not a very good situation," said Rice.

In her talks with Egyptian officials including President Hosni Mubarak, Secretary Rice also discussed the situations in Iraq and Darfur, as well as the ongoing¹¹ political crisis in Lebanon, which has not had a president since November.

She defended the decision to send a U.S. Navy warship¹² to the coast of Lebanon, saying the United States would defend its allies. The move has been sharply criticized by many in the region who say it will only add to the tension in Lebanon.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

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 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

4 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。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 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。

8 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 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。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。