VOA标准英语2008年-India, Pakistan Pledge More Peace Talks

India's prime minister and Pakistan's president have agreed to a new round of peace talks before the end of the year. Barry Newhouse in Islamabad and Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi report the leaders also agreed to a joint¹ commission that will investigate the bombing of India's embassy in Afghanistan.

Pakistan PM Hopeful of Resolving Dispute
　
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (L) hugs Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting, 24 Sep 2008

The meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was the first between Pakistan's new President Asif Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Relations between the longtime rival nations have been particularly strained after India accused Pakistan's intelligence services of participating in the July bombing of its embassy in Kabul.

Asif Zardari told reporters that his country now faces a difficult situation, but he is hopeful about resolving the long-standing issue of Kashmir with India.

"So I think there is an impetus² of a new dialogue with the realization³ and the growth of this generation, I think people of India and people of Pakistan should themselves decide," he said.

New Delhi Feels Sense of Reassurance⁴

The first meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari appears to have reassured⁵ New Delhi of Islamabad's commitment to a peace process begun with the former Pakistani government.

New Delhi has been worried that negotiating peace with a weak civilian⁶ government may be more difficult than dealing⁷ with former Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf, who had a firm grip on the army.

Analysts⁸ say that, for India, Islamabad's promise to act against terrorism remains⁹ a top priority. Tensions escalated¹⁰ between the two countries after New Delhi accused Pakistan's spy agency of involvement in a powerful suicide car bomb attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July.

After the meeting between the two leaders in New York, Indian Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, said that the Kabul bombing would be discussed with Islamabad, next month.

"They agreed that violence, hostility¹¹ and terrorism had no place in the vision they share of the bilateral¹² relationship and must be visibly and verifiably prevented," he said. "Severe action would be taken against any elements directing or involved in terrorist attacks."

A commitment to stabilize¹³ a truce¹⁴ along the volatile¹⁵ border in Kashmir is also expected to lower tensions between the South Asian rivals. Several incidents of cross border shooting have been reported in recent months, after four years of calm.

But for people in Indian Kashmir, the most significant outcome is the decision to start cross border trade next month in the region, which is divided between the rivals.

Kashmiris have been demanding closer cross border linkages¹⁶ since the peace process began four years ago. So far, the two countries only operate a passenger bus service in the region.

 

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 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

3 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

4 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

5 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

11 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

12 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。

13 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

14 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

15 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

16 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句