VOA标准英语2010年-Pope Denounces Failure of Copenhagen C

Pope Benedict XVI greets ambassadors to The Holy See during the traditional new year's address to diplomatic corps¹, at the Vatican, 11 Jan 2010

 
Pope Benedict XVI focused his annual address to ambassadors accredited² to the Vatican on the environment and the protection of creation. He denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a new climate change treaty in Copenhagen last month.

In his address to diplomats³ from more than 170 nations accredited to the Vatican, Pope Benedict expressed concern about the failure to reach agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen summit last month.

Speaking in French, he said he shared "the growing concern caused by economic and political resistance to combating the degradation⁴ of the environment." The pope expressed the hope that an agreement would be reached to effectively deal with this question before the end of the year. Follow-up conferences are scheduled in Bonn and Mexico City in 2010.

Benedict didn't name countries responsible for bogging⁵ down negotiations⁶, but explained why the matter is of utmost importance. He said it has to do with the future of some nations, particularly island states.

Pope Benedict considers safeguarding the environment a moral issue. He has been dubbed⁷ the "green pope" for his increasingly vocal⁸ concern about protecting the environment. He told the diplomats that in order to cultivate peace, one must protect creation.

How can we forget, the pope said, that the struggle for access to natural resources is one of the causes of a number of conflicts, not least in Africa, as well as a continuing threat elsewhere?

The pope called for the "appropriate management" of natural resources, particularly in economically disadvantaged nations. He said enormous resources were going to military spending "and the cost of maintaining and developing nuclear arsenals⁹" instead of being diverted to help the poor.
      
Benedict decried¹⁰ what he called "indifference¹¹, amounting practically to resignation of public opinion worldwide" of conflicts such as those in Darfur, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

3 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》

4 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

5 bogging   

n.陷入，沉入v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的现在分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• Every day danger mounted, he said, but the deal was bogging down. 他说，危险与日俱增，但是谈判却迟迟没有进展。 来自辞典例句
• It's bogging down on me. 现在这样快憋死我了。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

10 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。