VOA标准英语2009年-Israel to Continue Gaza Attacks Until Hamas Sto

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters in France that Israel will not agree to an immediate¹ halt of its attacks on Gaza. She spoke² following meetings with French officials.
　

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addresses reporters following her meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Elysee Palace in Paris, 01 Jan 2009

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters that Israel would only decide whether or not to halt its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip based on a daily assessment³ of the situation.

A number of country's have called for Israel to accept a ceasefire, but Livni said any truce⁴ would be a pretext⁵ for the militant⁶ Palestinian group to rearm.

"We want to weaken Hamas in the Gaza Strip," said Tzipi Livni. "At the end of the day, Hamas is not only a problem to Israel but to the entire Palestinian people, they are a problem to those who understand what is the nature of Hamas. They are a problem to all the Arab states that understands they have their own radical⁷ elements back home, including Muslim brotherhoods⁸ in different places."

Livni spoke at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. She said President Sarkozy understands the threat Israel is facing from Hamas, which continues to launch rockets into Israeli territory.
　

A Palestinian boy stands next to destroyed houses after an Israeli missile strike in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, 01 Jan. 2009

While Mr. Sarkozy handed over the presidency⁹ of the European Union to the Czech Republic on New Year's Day, he appears determined¹⁰ to continue playing a prominent role in world affairs - including the Middle East conflict.

On Monday, the French president is to begin a tour of the Middle East that will take him to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Before his trip, Mr. Sarkozy is to meet Friday with the majority leader of Lebanon's parliament, Saad Hariri.

In a New Year's eve address, Mr. Sarkozy said it is France's duty to seek peace in the Middle East.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 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。

5 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 brotherhoods   

兄弟关系( brotherhood的名词复数 )； （总称）同行； （宗教性的）兄弟会； 同业公会

参考例句：

• Clubs became more like brotherhoods for the jobless and fans would do anything for them. 俱乐部变得更像是失业者协会，球迷愿意为其做任何事情。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。