时间:2018-11-29 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(十二月)


英语课
The European Union, or EU, is calling on Israel to observe a humanitarian 1 truce 2 after a four-day Israeli air offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France, which currently heads the EU, hosted a meeting in Paris on Tuesday aimed at resolving the crisis. Kouchner told French television he is pushing for a lasting 3 truce.
 






French FM Kouchner (R), Spanish FM Moratinos and Greek FM Bakoyannis arrive for an urgent meeting on Gaza in Paris, 30 Dec 2008



Spain's Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, told reporters the Europe Union's immediate 4 goal is to secure a cease-fire between Israel and the militant 5 Palestinian group Hamas. The Europeans are particularly looking for a humanitarian truce.

Their call for a cease-fire joins that of the United States, which said Hamas must respect the truce. Meanwhile, Persian Gulf 6 Arab ministers have strongly condemned 7 Israel's actions in the conflict.

Earlier Tuesday, the EU's executive arm called on Israel and Hamas to cease all attacks affecting civilians 8 and let humanitarian aid into the impoverished 9 Gaza Strip.

But Robin 10 Lowe, a Middle East expert at Chatham House, a London-based public policy institute, said the Europeans have limited diplomatic clout 11.

"The European Union countries have a fairly weak voice in this conflict. Many of them wish that was stronger and they're all full of ideas and good intentions to help find a quick and peaceful resolution. But the difficulty is that neither side [Israel or Hamas] is at all minded to listening to the Europeans," he said.

The Europeans are also divided, with many countries historically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. But the Czech Republic, which takes over the EU rotating presidency 12 from France on January 1, has defended Israel's air strikes on Gaza in retaliation 13 for Hamas rocket fire.



1 humanitarian
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者
  • 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 truce
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束
  • The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
  • She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。
3 lasting
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
4 immediate
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
5 militant
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士
  • Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
  • He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。
6 gulf
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
7 condemned
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
8 impoverished
adj.穷困的,无力的,用尽了的v.使(某人)贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 );使(某物)贫瘠或恶化
  • the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
  • They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 robin
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟
  • The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
  • We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟,知道春天要到了。
10 clout
n.用手猛击;权力,影响力
  • The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权,但无真正的政治影响力。
  • He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。
11 presidency
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
12 retaliation
n.报复,反击
  • retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
  • He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
admove
advertising sticker
alguazil
ameboid movement
Androsace refracta
asphalt ductility testing machine
attributions towards others
beats per minutes
Bernician
bill with letter of credit
Bloch wave
borgna
Bourbon, C.
branchiostegan
caliphatist
cardel
Caudies
cerebral penetrating wound
cognitively
compacted sub-soil base
conjugate structure ACELP
cross-modality matching
datel services
diffusion brazing
discapacitates
drug-induced jaundice
East Morton
electroacoustic analogy
embedment length
epigonal organ
euro-trash
experimental accuracy
flat-topped culvert
Foulness Point
full load current
geologic medium
Gift Aid
glaciarium
hailus
hands off speed
Hemsleya
hot holes
hyperthyroid myopathy
Imathias, Nomos
intengible goods
Isopulsan
kernel of triangle tables
ladybird beetles
lanternlights
libyan monetary units
liquid oxidizer
machine upkeep
make or break something
Mary L.
mean matrix
meteor stream
minced meat and bean curd in chilli sauce
modified soda
Mold.
monkey-bread tree
mycodermas
myelotome
neustrias
nonneutrals
North Sioux City
occupation medicine
open and shut valve
overpitches
oversight of market
Paracetophenetine
Paris formula
piliated
porch monkeys
progressive deformation
remote measuring
renaldry
resource assignment
rhombomere
sclerotylosis
second-grade
self-locking action
shipping commissioner
single-vendor
social skill
spot receiver
SRL (system reference library)
stake pocket strap U
stray load loss
studying
syphilitic diagnostics
televersity
three-integrator system
tiprotimod
Toguzak
two speed
under-hands
Valerianella locusta
vasclips
waka (japan)
weihrich
wolf pack
zero ideal