VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Wants G8 to Honor Commitments to Africa

U.S. President George Bush says he will use next week's meeting of the world's leading industrialized nations to urge fellow leaders to honor the commitments they have made to help Africa. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.
　
President Bush gestures during remarks on upcoming G8 summit in the Rose Garden of the White House, 02 Jul 2008

President Bush says the world needs more than leaders who make promises about helping¹ Africa. He says it needs leaders who actually write the checks.

"You know I hope that these countries understand the great promise and hope that comes when we help alleviate² this suffering," the president said. "And so one of my really important agenda items is going to rally our partners to make commitments and meet commitments."

Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House that he is going to next week's Group of Eight summit in Japan to press fellow leaders to deliver on a promise made two years ago to double financial assistance to Africa to $22 billion by the year 2010.

So far, the nonpartisan AIDS and poverty awareness³ group the One Campaign says just 14 percent of those funds have been delivered.

At last year's G8 summit, leaders agreed to back U.S.-led efforts to help cut African deaths from malaria⁴ by half in the most-affected⁵ countries. President Bush says he will push leaders to honor that commitment as well.

Mr. Bush says he will press for more G8 funding to train African health care workers and assistance for those facing rising food prices in Africa and other developing nations.

"At Toyako, I will also ask leaders of the G8 to make important strategic moves to alleviate hunger, such as increasing the shipments of food, fertilizers, and seeds to countries in need. It's one thing to talk about the problem," he said. "This is a practical way to help countries deal with the lack of food. We need to help severely⁶ affected nations grow more of their own food. It's one thing to provide food. It seems like it makes sense to me to say we are going to help you become more agriculturally self-sustaining."

White House officials expect President Bush will discuss the ongoing⁷ political crisis in Zimbabwe both during bilateral⁸ talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki and in a wider conversation between G8 leaders and the heads of Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania.

Global climate change is also on this year's agenda.

Summit host Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hopes to convince his colleagues to agree on a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.

President Bush blocked binding⁹ limits on greenhouse gases at last year's G8 meeting because they did not apply to other big polluters including China and India. So this year's summit will include China and India in a separate meeting of 16 major economies responsible for 80 percent of world carbon dioxide emissions¹⁰.

Mr. Bush says efforts to combat global climate change must not restrict economic development.

"I'll be reminding people that we can have better energy security and we can be better stewards¹¹ of the environment without sacrificing economic growth," he noted¹². "And the principle is pretty simple. It's going to be hard to have the amount of money necessary to invest in new technologies if we don't have the money to spend, and therefore we need to make sure our economies are vibrant¹³."

The president has approved $40 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to support private sector¹⁴ investments in clean energy technology.

　

 

1 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。

2 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

3 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。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 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。

8 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。

9 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

10 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

11 stewards   

（轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家

参考例句：

• The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
• The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。

12 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。

13 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。