2007年VOA标准英语-Bush, Iraqi PM Maliki Discuss Security-英语课

时间：2019-01-12 作者：英语课 分类：2007年VOA标准英语（二月）

英语课

By Scott Stearns
White House
16 February 2007

U.S. President George Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke 1 for nearly an hour Friday about improving security in Baghdad. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

In a secure videoteleconference, President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki discussed the new strategy for Iraq, where additional U.S. troops are joining Iraqi units to better secure the capital.

Tony Snow, 11 Feb 2007
White House Spokesman Tony Snow says the two leaders believe the new strategy is starting to show results.

"They discussed progress in implementing 2 the Baghdad security plan and positive indicators 3 that the plan is coming together and beginning to have an impact in Baghdad," he said. "The prime minister again affirmed that no one is going to be above the law regardless of religious affiliation 4 or social status."

President Bush says past efforts to secure Baghdad failed in part because of political interference from Iraqi leaders who tried to limit the scope of U.S. operations.

Snow says Mr. Bush emphasized the need to equitably 5 distribute the $10 dollars in Iraq's budget for reconstruction 6.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in Anbar province, where Snow says they agreed there are opportunities for Iraq's government to support civilians 7 actively 8 opposing al-Qaida in Iraq.

George W. Bush (16 Feb 2007)
President Bush says Prime Minister Maliki is beginning to meet important benchmarks for improving security and political cooperation.

"And that's good news for the Iraqi people, and it should give people here in the United States confidence that this government knows its responsibilities and is following through on those responsibilities," he said.

The president spoke following a meeting with Ryan Crocker. Mr. Bush has nominated him to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

He said, "The ambassador heads into a really important assignment, carrying a message of hope to the Iraqi people that the United States wants them to succeed and a message of urgency to the Iraqi government that our patience is not unlimited 9 and that we expect that government to perform."

A public opinion poll this week by the newspaper USA Today says a majority of Americans believe it was a mistake to invade Iraq, and 60 percent oppose sending more troops.

The war has hurt President Bush's approval ratings and helped opposition 10 Democrats 11 win control of both houses of Congress last year.

President Bush says Democrats are criticizing his new strategy for Iraq before they have given it a chance to succeed.

1 spoke

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 implementing

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

-- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。来自辞典例句

3 indicators

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )；指示物；（车辆上的）转弯指示灯；指示信号