VOA标准英语 Obama To Meet With Mideast Leaders

U.S. President Barack Obama is stepping up his personal involvement in the Middle East peace process. He has invited regional leaders to the White House for individual talks in the coming weeks.

The invitations are going out to the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.

Details are still being worked out, but the administration says President Obama hopes to meet separately with Benjamin Netanyahu, Hosni Mubarak and Mahmoud Abbas within the next six weeks.
　
US President Barack Obama (r) with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House, 21 Apr 2009

Mr. Obama previewed this new round of personal diplomacy¹ on Tuesday, when he welcomed Jordan's King Abdullah to the White House.

He said some people are cynical² about the peace process, both in the region and around the world. But he said progress is still possible.

"What we want to do is to step back from the abyss to say as hard as it is, as difficult as it may be, the prospect³ of peace still exists," said President Obama.

The president tried to mix optimism with realism as he took questions from reporters at the end of the meeting with the Jordanian monarch⁴.

He talked about the tough road ahead, but he indicated he expects some positive signs in the not too distant future.

"My hope would be that over the next several months that you start seeing gestures of good faith on all sides," said Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama did not elaborate, but he said the parties know what kind of confidence measures might be helpful.

The president stressed that the United States will do everything it can to encourage those measures, noting that his special envoy⁵, George Mitchell, will continue discussions in the region.

Mr. Obama cautioned, though, that with a new government in Israel, progress will not come overnight.

"I think it is very important to recognize that the Israelis now have had a government for a few weeks," he said. "And it was a very complicated process for them to put a coalition⁶ together. So I think more listening needs to be done."

The president said with all the political changes taking place in the region, both sides will need time to formulate⁷ and solidify⁸ their positions. But he said there will come a point when the talking must stop, and action must be taken.

Mr. Obama said again that he backs a two-state solution, despite the reluctance⁹ of the new Israeli government to support Palestinian statehood. He said tough decisions lie ahead for all parties, and vowed¹⁰ the U.S. will do all it can to create the conditions where progress is possible.

Jordan's King said he hopes everyone involved in the peace process will seize the opportunity.

"I think we are looking now at the positives and not the negatives in seeing how we can sequence events over the next couple of months that allows Israelis and Palestinians, and Israelis and Arabs to sit around the table and move this process forward," said King Abdullah.

During the session with reporters, President Obama was also asked about anti-Israel statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a U.N. conference on racism¹¹ this week.

Mr. Obama said such comments hurt Iran's position in the world. But he indicated he was not surprised by the Iranian leader's remarks, saying the rhetoric¹² was nothing new.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

8 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

9 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。