VOA常速英语2008年-Organization of Islamic Conference Summit Opens

By Uma Ramiah
Dakar
13 March 2008

The Organization of the Islamic Conference summit has opened in Senegal's capital, Dakar. The heads of state are discussing negative views of Islam, solidarity¹ with poorer Muslim nations, and helping² Palestinians. For VOA, Uma Ramiah has more from the conference site.

A Senegalese teenager chanted verses of the Koran as the summit got underway in a plush Dakar hotel.

At the opening ceremony, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade³ was officially given the chairmanship from Malaysia, which hosted the last OIC gathering⁴ in 2003.

Mr. Wade said he was honored that Dakar was for a few days the capital of Islam.

Senegal was to host the summit in 2006, but postponed⁵ it because the city could not be made ready in time. Despite this and early setbacks in bringing the Chadian and Sudanese presidents together for peace talks on the sideline of the meeting, President Wade remained optimistic.

He thanked all Muslims who had prayed for the conference, and assured them it would be a success.

The octogenarian president went on to denounce Islamophobia, saying that acts of terrorism are not in line with Islam and calling for dialogue and tolerance⁶ from the non-Muslim world.

Mr. Wade also called for Palestinians and Israelis to enter a peace process. He emphasized the importance of respecting the human rights of Palestinian people.

In the crowded lobby of the conference center, delegation⁷ members in traditional dress from member countries such as Lebanon, Mali, Russia, and Pakistan drank tea and discussed the days' events.

One eager participant was Palestinian ambassador to Malaysia Abdelaziz Aboughosh, who has previously⁸ held a high position in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

"In my experience as former assistant Secretary General of the OIC for Palestine and Jerusalem, I think the OIC is the Islamic global force supporting the important Islamic issues," said Aboughosh.

Aboughosh says he is pleased the situation in Palestinian territories is getting so much attention this year.

"It is one of the first issues that the summit tackles," he said. "The main issue is the support of the Muslim and OIC countries towards the peace initiative that Palestine is currently trying to achieve."

Missing from the proceedings⁹ were heads of state from the largest member countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who were among the largest donors¹⁰ for this summit.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference brings together delegates from 57 member countries, and says it represents more than 1.3 billion Muslims throughout the world.

1 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

6 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 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。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》