VOA标准英语2008年-Betancourt Calls for Negotiated Release of All

A day after being freed from Colombian rebels, Ingrid Betancourt is calling for new efforts to win the release of other hostages in rebel hands. VOA's Brian Wagner reports Betancourt was one of 15 people freed by Colombian forces on Wednesday.
　
Ingrid Betancourt speaks at news conference, 3 Jul 2008

Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt is celebrating with her family, after being freed from more than six years in captivity¹.

But she stressed dozens of other people remain in jungle camps of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Betancourt said the leftist rebels are at a weak point, and Colombia's government should work to negotiate an end to the more than 44-year-old rebel conflict.

Betancourt said mediators should ask rebel leaders to use their influence to encourage militants² to end terrorist activities and seek a path of reconciliation³ and peace.

Betancourt, who holds Colombian and French citizenships, thanked France's government for recent efforts to pressure rebels to free hostages. She said Colombia, France and other nations should form a league of nations to work for the release of hostages in conflicts around the world.

Late Wednesday, President Alvaro Uribe said the government hopes all hostages will be freed soon from rebel hands. He also praised the work of Colombia's armed forces and intelligence agents for securing the release of Betancourt and 14 others.

Uribe said the operation was admirable in many ways, and it was a triumph for the armed forces, and respectful of human rights.
　
Hostages freed from FARC rebels in Colombia during press conference, 02 Jul 2008

The operation also recovered 11 Colombian police and soldiers, and three American defense⁴ contractors⁵, who were seized in 2003 when their plane crashed during a drug surveillance flight. The three men, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, were flown to a military base in Texas late Wednesday to be reunited with family members.

President Bush praised the work of Colombia's government to secure the safe release of the hostages.

"I congratulated the president. I asked him to congratulate his military and those who had planned it. And I told him what a joyous⁶ occasion it must be to know that the plan had worked, that people who were unjustly held were now free to be with their families," he said.

The U.S. ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield, met the three Americans shortly after their rescue. He said two of them are suffering from a skin disease known as leishmaniasis, which they contracted during captivity.

　

 

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。