VOA标准英语2009年-UN Chief Calls on Israel, Hamas to Forge Lastin

.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, just back from a visit to the Gaza Strip, says he was "deeply affected¹" by the destruction and suffering he witnessed. He called on Israel and Hamas to turn their unilateral cease-fires into a lasting² peace.
　
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits the still-smoldering U.N. headquarters in Gaza City, 20 Jan 2009

The U.N. chief made a week-long trip to the Middle East, visiting seven countries and the occupied Palestinian territories in a bid to end the fighting in Gaza. His talks with leaders at every stop left him with laryngitis by the time he returned to brief the Security Council Wednesday afternoon.

Stepping in, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, who accompanied Mr. Ban on the trip, read the U.N. chief's remarks to the 15-member council.

"The fighting has ended with declarations of unilateral cease-fires, and, today [Wednesday], the withdrawal³ of Israeli troops," he said. "This is an important achievement and offers a much-needed respite⁴ for suffering civilians⁵, especially in the Gaza Strip. But conditions are still fragile and much more remains⁶ to be done on both the humanitarian⁷ and diplomatic fronts."

The secretary-general said he is counting on regional and international leaders to continue these efforts to find areas of agreement and ways to ensure that a durable⁸ and lasting cease-fire is quickly implemented⁹ - one that includes lasting arrangements to prevent the smuggling¹⁰ of arms and ammunition¹¹ to Hamas and ensures the sustained reopening of Gaza border crossings.

Mr. Ban visited Gaza on Tuesday. He said he wanted to show his respect and concern for the injured and dead.

"I wanted to send a signal that the United Nations stands with the people who have borne tragedy and disaster, and that we will not abandon them," continued Pascoe, reading the secretary-general's remarks.

Mr. Ban also met residents in the southern Israeli city of Sderot - long a target of Hamas rocket fire and where three Israelis have been killed during the conflict.

Mr. Ban said that in both places, he underscored the need for international humanitarian law to be fully¹² respected and for civilians to be protected. He said that where civilians have been killed or there are allegations of violations¹³ of international humanitarian law, there should be investigations¹⁵, full explanations, and where it is required, accountability.

Fifty U.N. facilities have been damaged in the hostilities¹⁶. Among them, three U.N.-run schools that were hit by Israeli fire. In one incident, more than 40 civilians were killed. In another, a U.N. warehouse¹⁷ full of food and medicine burned to the ground. And in another incident, two young brothers were killed.

Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe said Mr. Ban visited some of these sites and expressed his outrage¹⁸.

"When I met Israeli leadership on several occasions, I demanded a thorough investigation¹⁴ into every single one of these incidents," Pascoe read from Ban's written remarks. "I expect to receive a full explanation of each incident and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions."

Mr. Ban said once the Israelis report their findings to him, he will decide on the appropriate follow-up action.

The secretary-general also stressed that humanitarian relief is the number one priority in Gaza. He has dispatched a high-level U.N. team there to assess the immediate¹⁹ needs, and an appeal for hundreds-of-millions of dollars in aid is expected in about 10 days.

Following the secretary-general's briefing, the Security Council issued a statement welcoming the cease-fire and the efforts of the U.N. chief as well as those of regional and international players, especially Egypt, in bringing it about.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 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。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 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。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

16 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。