VOA标准英语2009年-UN General Assembly Holds Emergency Session on

The U.N. General Assembly sharply criticized Israel's incursion in the Gaza Strip during an emergency session Thursday. Their meeting began just hours after Israeli said its shells accidentally struck the United Nations' main compound in Gaza, destroying tons of medicine and food aid and injuring at least three people.
　
Palestinian firefighters try to put out a fire at the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City, after it was hit by Israeli shells, 15 Jan 2009

Israel's delegation¹ tried to have the special session canceled, saying that it was illegal under the rules that govern the U.N. body. But the General Assembly's legal advisor² disagreed and the meeting was allowed to continue.

General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann opened the meeting with a lengthy³ statement, most of it an indictment⁴ of Israel.

"It seems to me ironic⁵ that Israel, a state that, more than any other, owes its very existence to a General Assembly resolution, should be so disdainful of United Nations resolutions," he said. "[Israeli] Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert's recent statement disavowing the authority of Security Council resolution 1860 clearly places Israel as a state in contempt of international law and the United Nations."

That resolution, passed one week ago, calls for an "immediate⁶ and durable⁷ cease-fire" in Gaza. So far, both Israel and Hamas have rejected it.

Thursday's special session was called at the request of the 118-member states that make up the non-aligned movement. Among the more than 40 speakers who had requested to address the session there were few friends of Israel.

Member states condemned⁸ Israel for its military incursion, the high number of Palestinian civilian⁹ casualties, strikes on hospitals and U.N. installations and its failure to heed¹⁰ the Security Council's call for an cease-fire. They also urged Israel to lift its blockade on the occupied territory and withdraw its troops.

The General Assembly is considering whether to adopt a resolution of its own on the situation. But unlike Security Council resolutions, those of the General Assembly are non-binding.

The special session came just hours after Israeli shells damaged the main United Nations compound in Gaza which was sheltering 700 Palestinians. The resulting fire destroyed a warehouse¹¹ full of medicine and food aid and injured three people.

Israel has called the strike a "grave mistake" and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon who was in Israel today pressing for an end to the violence said it was an "outrage¹²" and demanded a full explanation from Israeli authorities. Last week, Israeli fire struck a U.N.-run school in Gaza, killing¹³ more than 40 people taking shelter there.

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

4 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

5 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

6 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。

7 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

8 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

9 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。

10 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

11 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

12 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。