VOA标准英语2009年-Donor's Pledge $4.48 Billion in New Gaza Aid

Representatives from donor¹ nations meeting in Egypt have pledged more than $4.4 billion in new aid to help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip after the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.
　
A general view of the opening session of the international donors² conference for rebuilding the Gaza Strip, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, 02 Mar³ 2009

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said international donors meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh have pledged more than $5 billion for Gaza reconstruction⁴.

The Egyptian foreign minister says the participants at the conference pledged the sum of $4.481 billion dollars in fresh money at Monday's session ... and he says if you add previous pledges that some donor nations have reiterated⁵, the figure comes to $5.2 billion, a figure that well exceeded expectations.

It is nearly twice the amount sought by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed aid money for Gaza must be accompanied by a "comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors."
　
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Gaza aid conference at Sharm el-Sheikh, 02 Mar 2009

"By providing humanitarian⁶ assistance to Gaza, we also aim to foster conditions in which a Palestinian state can be fully⁷ realized," said Hillary Clinton. "A state that is a responsible partner, is at peace with Israel and its Arab neighbors, and is accountable to its people. A state that Palestinians everywhere can be proud of, and is respected worldwide. This is the Palestinian state we all envision. This is the Palestinian state we have an obligation to help create."

Clinton said the United States $300 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza, in addition to $600 million for the Palestinian Authority, which is expected to use it to help pay the salaries of civil servants.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal told al Arabiya TV that rebuilding Gaza would be "difficult and fool-hardy, so long as peace and security do not prevail" in the territory.

Conference host Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said it is his "priority to reach a truce⁸ between Israel and the Palestinians," despite the multiple setbacks in negotiations⁹ Egypt has been mediating¹⁰.

He says Palestinians, as well as Arab and Muslim states, can not bear the climate of limbo¹¹, in which peace never quite arrives, for much longer. The situation in the region, he emphasizes, is alarming and could explode, more than at any time in the past, abetted¹² by terrorism that thrives on delayed peace and regional forces that seek to drag the region into the abyss.

Israel threatened Sunday to launch a punishing new round of retaliatory¹³ strikes against Gaza if there is not a halt to rocket attacks against Israeli territory that have continued since the Israeli incursion ended in January.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy said making peace with Israel was the duty of all "responsible Palestinians" and excuses are no longer acceptable.

"It is a matter of will," he said. "Do we want to meet, just to talk or do we want to take the risk of making peace? Some tell me that the conditions [for peace] are not ripe, he argues. Well, if we wait for the conditions to be ripe to talk peace, we will be waiting a long time, and in the meantime we will be giving the initiative to extremists, everywhere."

Among the extremists Mr. Sarkozy was referring to is the Islamic Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. International donors want Hamas to play no part in spending funds pledged to rebuild Gaza.

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

11 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

12 abetted   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• He was abetted in the deception by his wife. 他行骗是受了妻子的怂恿。
• They aided and abetted in getting the police to catch the thief. 他们协助警察抓住了小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网