VOA常速英语2008年-US Vice President in Baghdad Hails Progress in

By Daniel Schearf
Irbil
17 March 2008

U.S. Vice¹ President Dick Cheney paid a visit to Baghdad just before the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The vice president hailed progress in Iraq and promised continued support from Washington. Meanwhile, a female suicide bomber² has killed 40 people and wounded more than 70 near a Shi'ite shrine³ in Karbala. Daniel Schearf reports from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil

Vice President Cheney arrived in Baghdad for meetings with Iraqi officials.

Cheney met with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The two discussed the situation in Iraq, regional security, and bilateral⁴ relations.

The vice president was a key architect of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He said his visit was to send President Bush's thanks and to reaffirm an "unwavering commitment" from the U.S. to Iraq's future.

"It is especially significant, I think, to be able to return this week as we mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the campaign that liberated⁵ the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein's tyranny and launched them on the difficult but historic road to democracy," he said.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,000 U.S.-led coalition⁶ troops have died since the 2003 overthrow⁷ of Saddam Hussein in ongoing⁸ violence across the country.

But Mr. Cheney said since his last visit 10 months ago he saw phenomenal changes in Iraq in security and political developments.

The U.S. military says violent attacks have dropped by 60 percent since June.

Also, Iraq this year passed several long-delayed laws seen as important for fostering trust between Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis, and various ethnic⁹ groups, as well as the central and local governments.

But other laws seen as important in that regard, one on provincial¹⁰ elections and another on sharing oil revenues, have yet to be passed.

Mr. Maliki said the two leaders also discussed negotiations¹¹ over future diplomatic and military relations. He thanked the vice president for U.S. recognition and support of Iraq's achievements. He says the frequency of these visits by the vice president are very important and that they cement and support the relationship between the two countries and the success that they have achieved in Iraq in the global war against terrorism. He says it is very important to have these meetings and these successes.

Cheney's surprise visit coincided with one by presidential candidate and U.S. Senator, John McCain, who arrived Sunday. McCain is in Iraq to assess the recent security gains, which are still considered fragile.

A series of deadly suicide bombings this year drove up the death toll¹² and reversed six-months of falling casualty figures. But, the U.S. military says it does not yet indicate a new trend.

As the U.S. leaders were in Baghdad, bombs in the capital killed at least four people, including a policeman, and wounded several others.

Explosions were also heard near the "Green Zone," the heavy security area that houses the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy. But, it is not clear if anyone was injured. 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

3 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

11 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。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。