VOA标准英语2009年-World Leaders Rally in Support for Pakista

By David Gollust
United Nations
24 September 2009

 
President Barack Obama (l) and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (r) at the informal Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting in New York, 24 Sep 2009
President Barack Obama co-chaired a meeting of world leaders in New York Thursday aimed at generating political and economic support for Pakistan. The meeting coincided with U.S. Senate passage of a five-year non-military aid package for Pakistan.

U.S. officials say there was spontaneous applause at the meeting, at a New York hotel, when word arrived of Senate approval of the five-year Pakistan aid plan, which would triple civilian² U.S. assistance to about $1.5 billion a year.

Expected to win final approval in the U.S. House of Representatives as early as Friday, the unusual multi-year plan is aimed assuring a dependable flow of Washington support to the economically hard-pressed Pakistani government.

The New York meeting - co-chaired by President Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari - was the first summit-level session of the informal Friends of Democratic Pakistan grouping, and it brought together leaders of some 25 countries and organizations.

Briefing reporters on the meeting, U.S. envoy³ for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said it reflects a growing realization⁴ around the world that Pakistan is critically important in its own right and to the surrounding region, especially Afghanistan.

"We want to convey through this meeting today in which President Zardari sat between the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the President of the United States, flanked by many of the world's greatest leaders - Sarkozy, Berlusconi, the U.N. Secretary General, the president of the World Bank, Turkey Japan, the European Union - we wanted to show clearly that the United States and Pakistan's other friends are all working together for Pakistan," said Richard Holbrooke.

Holbrooke said the Pakistani government has successfully weathered a series of domestic crises earlier this year, including the Taliban offensive in the Swat Valley and neighboring northern areas that he suggested has generated a public backlash against religious extremists.

"The army now has the backing of the Pakistani people," he said. "There seems to be a growing recognition that the Taliban and other miscreants⁵, to use the Pakistanis' own word for this, are a threat to the entire country and are alien to the spirit of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the founders⁶ of Pakistan."

Though he did not announce dates, Holbrooke said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is preparing for a visit to Pakistan next month.

He said one focus of that trip will be helping⁷ the country deal with an energy crisis that has forced daily power cuts in the largest city Karachi, among others.

The Pakistan aid bill, co-sponsored by Democrat¹ Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and ranking Republican Richard Lugar, is aimed at regularizing a civilian aid relationship that has fluctuated over the years depending on events in Pakistan.

While not stipulating⁸ dollar amounts of U.S. military aid, it authorizes⁹ such sums that are necessary to help the country deal with security needs.

It conditions such aid on Pakistani efforts to combat nuclear proliferation, fight terrorism, and uphold democracy.

 

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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。

3 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。

4 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

5 miscreants   

n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I ordered the miscreants to let me out. 我命令这些土匪放我出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. 当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。 来自辞典例句

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 stipulating   

v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的现在分词 )；规定，明确要求

参考例句：

• Shall we first sign a barter trade agreement stipulating the general terms and conditions? 我们先签一个易货贸易协议，规定一般性条款，行吗？ 来自互联网
• The other firm are stipulating for and early exchange of information regarding the contract. 作为协议条件，另一家公司坚持要求早日交换有关合同的信息。 来自互联网

9 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。