VOA标准英语2008年-Bush, Pakistan PM Hold Talks Amid Rising Concer

President Bush has met at the White House with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the talks took place at a time of rising tensions on the Pakistan-Afghan border.

The Bush administration wants the Pakistanis to do more to confront extremists and terrorists that have flourished along the Pakistani side of the border.

But at the same time, Washington does not want to alienate¹ Pakistan's government.

And so in his public statement following the talks with Prime Minister Gilani, President Bush chose his words carefully.

"Pakistan is a strong ally and a vibrant² democracy. The United States supports the democracy and supports the sovereignty of Pakistan," he said.

He referred to Pakistan as a friend while, at the same time, warning of the terrorist threat.

"We talked about the common threat we face: extremists who are very dangerous people. We talked about the need for us to make sure the Afghan border is as secure as possible. Pakistan has made a very strong commitment to that," he said.

Mr. Bush made no direct mention of reports of a possible U.S. connection to a missile strike earlier in the day near the Afghan border that killed at least six people.

NATO and U.S.-led coalition³ forces in Afghanistan have denied carrying out the attack. But the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has operated drones in the region. And officials in Pakistan say missiles hit a house next to a religious school, and indicate an al-Qaida weapons expert is among the dead.

Prime Minister Gilani also avoided any direct mention of the missile attack, but stressed his country is committed to the war on terror.

"This is our own war. This is a war against Pakistan. And we will fight for our own path. I lost my own leader - Benazir Bhutto - because of the militants⁴," he said.

The prime minister went on to stress that most Pakistanis want to cooperate with the United States in combating terrorism, and militants in his country represent a tiny minority.

U.S. and Afghan officials say fighters from Afghanistan's ousted⁵ Taliban regime have found safe havens⁶ in the remote tribal⁷ areas of northern Pakistan. Al-Qaida chief Osama bin⁸ Laden⁹ is also believed to be hiding in the region.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says while the top leadership has not been captured, al-Qaida has been weakened.

"That is due to the efforts of the Pakistanis working with us on counter-terrorism efforts," she said.

At a White House briefing for reporters, Perino announced the United States will be providing $115 million in food aid to Pakistan during the next two years. About a third of the money, $42.5 million, will be available over the next six to nine months.

 

 

1 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

7 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。