VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Holds Emotional Meeting with Famil

By Meredith Buel
Washington
05 November 2009

 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at State Department, 5 Nov 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held an emotional meeting Thursday with the families of three American hikers being detained in Iran and renewed appeals for their release.

On July 31 three young Americans, Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd were hiking in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq when they apparently¹ strayed into Iran.

The hikers were arrested for illegally entering Iran and are being held at the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

Secretary Clinton held a closed-door meeting with the families that she described as emotional."These three young people are obviously, not only on the minds of their family members, but on the minds of all of us. It was an emotional meeting and I described to the families everything that we are doing. I was impressed by their strength and fortitude² and their commitment. They are determined³ as we are to see these young people return home," she said.

The United States has been pressing for consular⁴ access to the Americans.

They have been allowed two visits by Swiss diplomats⁵ who represent U.S. interests in Iran.

The families have said the hikers were vacationing and did not intentionally⁶ cross the border.

All are graduates of the University of California, Berkeley.

Secretary Clinton indicated a strong personal interest in the case. "As a mother my heart went out to all of them. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to know that your child was in prison, for now 100 days, with very little contact between you and them. I told them we were doing everything we possibly could to get Shane and Joshua and Sarah home and we are exploring every angle. Obviously I would hope that the government of Iran would free them on humanitarian⁷ and compassionate⁸ basis as soon as possible and return them home to their families," she said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he will seek leniency⁹ for the American hikers.

President Ahmadinejad says no one can interfere¹⁰ in the Iranian judiciary process, but he will ask that the case be expedited and looked at with maximum lenience¹¹.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

3 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。

4 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

5 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

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 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

9 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

10 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

11 lenience   

n.宽大，温和

参考例句：

• All practices of corruption and corrupt elements shall be found out through investigation without tolerance or lenience. 对任何腐败行为和腐败分子，都必须一查到底，决不姑息，决不手软。
• We can feel intensely the writer motherly affection, sympathy, lenience and kindness by reading her works. 阅读她的作品，我们可以强烈地感受到作家如地母般的慈爱和悲悯、宽厚和善良。