VOA常速英语2008年-Bush Praises Ukraine Democracy, Calls for Path

By Paula Wolfson
Kyiv
01 April 2008
 

U.S. President George W. Bush says he strongly supports a bid by Ukraine and Georgia to start the process of NATO membership. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the comments came during a stop in Kyiv on his way to the NATO summit in Romania.

After a formal arrival ceremony, complete with military honor guard and red carpet, President Bush and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko got down to business in the Ukrainian capital.

They met for several hours, first alone and then with top aides. Topping the agenda was Ukraine's bid for a NATO membership plan, or MAP

"My position is absolutely solid. Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP," he said.

At a joint¹ news conference, Mr. Bush praised Ukraine's young democracy, and said if the alliance gives the Ukrainians a set of guideposts for membership it will bolster² efforts to implement³ reforms.

"Your nation has made a bold decision and the United States strongly supports your request," said Mr. Bush.

President Yushchenko will personally make the case for membership in NATO to alliance members later this week in Romania. But observers say the chances that Ukraine and Georgia, which has also put in a bid, will win approval in Bucharest are slim.

Russia is vehemently⁴ opposed to the further eastward⁵ expansion of NATO to two large former Soviet⁶ Republics.

President Bush says Russia does not have a veto on the issue. And he strongly rejects the suggestion that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to soften⁷ the U.S. stand on NATO expansion in exchange for concessions⁸ on plans to build a missile-defense system in Europe.

"That is a misperception. I strongly believe that Ukraine and Georgia should be given MAP," said Mr. Bush. "And there is no trade-offs, period!"

The president also says his administration is working hard to convince other NATO countries that it is in their interests to bring the two former Soviet Republics into the fold. Several alliance members, France and Germany, have indicated they do not believe Ukraine and Georgia are ready to be put on a membership path.

Objections are also being raised in some quarters here in Ukraine, especially in the ethnic⁹ Russian community. In a series of stops in Kyiv after his formal talks, Mr. Bush tried to reach out to the Ukrainian people.

He visited the historic St. Sophia's Cathedral, and went to a memorial to victims of a mass famine in 1933. He also stopped at a public school where teenagers involved in an AIDS awareness¹⁰ project, put on a play.

The president's stay in Ukraine lasted less than 24 hours, enough time to signal his support for the NATO bid and Ukrainian democracy before heading off to Bucharest and the alliance summit.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

5 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

8 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。

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 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。