VOA标准英语2012--China Wages Diplomatic Offensive With Arab Countries

China Wages Diplomatic Offensive With Arab Countries

At a regular briefing Wednesday, spokesman Hong Lei gave details of phone conversations Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has had in recent days with the head of the Arab League, as well as counterparts from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria.
He says Syria was the main topic of discussion.
Hong says the Chinese foreign minister urged the international community to create favorable conditions to provide humanitarian¹ assistance to Syria.
He adds that Beijing values the role of the Arab League in resolving the crisis in Syria and is, in his words, “ready to work with Arab countries” to push for a peaceful settlement of the crisis as soon as possible.
The spokesman says China is deeply worried about the escalating² violence in Syria. He had strong and direct words for the Syrian government, which many in the international community blame for killing³ its own people.
He says the Chinese government calls on all parties in Syria to stop the violence, singling out the Syrian government specifically. He adds that Beijing calls on the Syrian government to heed⁴ what he described as the “reasonable appeals of the Syrian people for reform.”
The Chinese comments come as members of the United Nations Security Council are drafting a resolution on Syria that focuses on seeking an end to the fighting so that humanitarian aid can get to besieged⁵ towns.
China and Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on February 4 that would have backed an Arab League proposal for the Syrian president to step down.
At the time, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said Russia and China have lost diplomatic credit in the Arab world because of their vetoes. China defended its decision by saying it was aimed at avoiding more casualties in Syria, even though the death toll⁶ there has continued to mount.
The Chinese spokesman did not say Wednesday whether his government would support any new U.N. resolutions, but only that any action the world body takes must abide⁷ by its charter.

1 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。

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

5 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。