英语报刊阅读材料.pdf
EDITORIALAnother Start for Peace TalksPublished:September 3,2010The resumption of direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians this week wasauspicious,despite a long history of failed attempts that fosters justifiable pessimismabout the ultimate chance of success.Two days of meetings in Washington struck the right tone.Unlike in 1993,whenPrime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat had tobe forced to shake hands at the White House,Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ofIsrael and the Palestinian president,Mahmoud Abbas,had no trouble.The results were good:a decision to meet again in Egypt in two weeks and every twoweeks thereafter to negotiate an agreement on all the core issues.That means theborders of a new Palestinian state,security for Israel,the status of Jerusalem and thefuture of Palestinian refugees.The leaders set an ambitious one-year deadline.If theyare truly committed,that seems plausible.But thats a big if.We have long been skeptical that Mr.Netanyahu really wants a deal.But he insistedhe had come to find a historic compromise,that would end the conflict and that herecognizes that“another people shares this land with us.He even told Mr.Abbas,“you are my partner in peace.We will soon see if it was all political theater.Mr.Abbas came to the table reluctantly.He is the weaker party and most at risk ofbeing blamed for any breakdown.Still,he promised to“work to make thesenegotiations succeed and said security-a major issue for Israel“is vital for bothof us.”Predictably,peace opponents tried to torpedo the talks.But Mr.Netanyahu didntwalk out when Hamas rejectionists killed four Israelis near Hebron.And Mr.Abbasnot only condemned the attack but his security forces went after those responsible.Hedidnt walk out when some Israeli settlers began new settlement construction evenbefore a Sept.26 moratorium is to expire.President Obama and his team seem to have found a firmer footing than last year.Now he needs to follow through on his promise to make the United States an activeparticipant in the talks.A durable peace deal will take even more.Saudi Arabia and other Arab states whohave long called for a Palestinian homeland must join Egypt and Jordan in activelybacking the Palestinians and the talks.The Israeli and Palestinian people must beginto see tangible evidence that this time is different.Sept.26 is the next flashpoint.The Washington conference would have had far moreimpact if the two sides announced an agreement to deal with that.Mr.Netanyahushould extend the moratorium.A version of this editorial appeared in print on September 4,2010,on page Al 8 of theNew York edition.Resumption恢 复；重 新 开 始；取 回；重 获；恢 复 硬 币 支 付 收 回 土 地 收 地 auspicious吉 兆 的，吉 利 的；幸 运 的 吉 祥 的 吉 兆 的 plausible貌 似 可 信 的，花 言 巧 语 的；貌 似 真 实 的，貌 似 有 理 的 似 合 理 的 似 乎 可 信 的 breakdown崩 溃；衰 弱；walk o u t罢 工；退 席；torpedo v t.破 坏；用 鱼 雷 袭 击 moratorium暂 停，中 止；延 期 偿 付 延 缓 履 行 冻 结 v i.期 满；终 止；死 亡；呼 气 v t.呼 出（空 气）死 亡，满 期，终 止 Obamas Moral CowardiceThe president needs to find his principles.Barack Obama9 s redecoration of the Oval Office includes a nice personal touch:acarpet ringed with favorite quotations from Abraham Lincoln,John F.Kennedy,bothPresidents Roosevelt,and Martin Luther King Jr.The King quote,in particular,hasbecome a kind of emblem for him:The arc of the moral Universe is long,but itbends toward justice.For all the carping about his every move,the only big problemwith the Obama presidency is the gap between whats written on his rug,and whatsunder it-the distance between the presidents veneration of moral leadership past andhis failure,so far,to exhibit much of it in the present.Obama has had numerous chances to assert leadership on values questions thissummer:Arizonas crude anti-immigrant law,the battle over Prop 8 and gay marriage,and the backlash against what Fox News persists in calling the Ground Zeromosque.These battles raise fundamental questions of national identity,liberty,andindividual rights.When Lindsey Graham argues fbr rewriting the Constitution toeliminate the birthright-citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment,or Newt Gingrichproposes a Saudi standard for the free exercise of religion,theyre taking positions atodds with Americas basic ideals.But Obamas instinctive caution has steered himaway from casting these questions as moral or civil-rights issues.On none of them hashe shown anything resembling courage.Photos:All the presidents emotionsIn responding to the fight over the mosque,Obama has been characteristicallylegalistic and technical.At an iftar dinner he hosted at the White House,the presidentsupported the right of Muslims 4 6to build a place of worship and a community centeron private property in lower Manhattan一 itself a too picky allowance.The next day,he hedged even further,telling reporters,was not commenting and I will notcomment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there.,Thissail-trimming,where a bold defense of freedom of worship was wanted,left it to thenewly heroic Michael Bloomberg to instruct us,at his own iftar dinner in New York,that the issue was“a test of our commitment to American values.With the Proposition 8 fight,Obama has fallen short in a different way,by hisreluctance to join an emerging social consensus.Obama had previously criticizedCalifornias Proposition 8,the ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage,as“divisive.But his official position-which no one believes he actually holds-is thathe is against legalizing gay marriage.Americans are changing their views on thisissue with inspiring rapidity.Judge Vaughn Walker5 s moving opinion provided anoccasion for Obama to embrace the extension of equal rights to gay people.Instead,he slunk mumbling in the other direction.How dismal that Americas first blackpresident will be remembered as shirking the last great civil-rights stmggle.When it comes to immigration,Obama has largely failed to challenge the newnativism promoted by Sarah Palin,Glenn Beck,and Arizona Gov.Jan Brewer.Yes,his Justice Department filed suit to block the implementation of Arizonas harsh law.But in talking about the topic,Obama has remained restrained and self-referential(Tve indicated that I dont approve of the Arizona law).He has said nothingmoving or memorable about the place of immigration in American life,or the rightsof noncitizens,including children,to education and medical care,or the reality that 11million undocumented residents cant and wont be shipped back where they camefrom.Here,as elsewhere,the current politics dont favor the liberal position.But read therug:The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all ofus”-Theodore Roosevelt.Obama has let pass moment after momentsuch as therecent Republican suggestion to revise the section of the Constitution that guaranteesdue process-in which he could have reframed an issue in terms of inclusiveness andjustice.Few would argue that defending liberal principle serves Obamas short-term interests.Americans oppose the mosque 61 percent to 26 percent,according to one recent poll,and support the Arizona law by an even wider margin.But even if some people dontlike Islam,or illegal immigrants,or gay weddings,they may respond to admonitionsthat our society is built around freedom of conscience and equal treatment under law.If he applied his oratorical gifts to these principles,Obama could remind a grumblingnation what it liked about him in the first place.(Newsweek September 04,2010)Oval Office美 国 总 统 办 公 室 总 统 办 公 室 椭 圆 形 办 公 室 personal touch 个 人 魅 力 emblem n.象 征；徽 章；符 号 v t.象 征；用 符 号 表 示；用 纹 章 装 饰 象 徵，徽 章 veneration尊 敬，崇 敬，崇 拜 rug小 地 毯；毛 皮 地 毯 gay m a rria g e同 性 恋 婚 姻 Proposition 8 禁 止 同 性 婚 姻 的 法 案 Ground Z ero归 零 地。“归 零 地”原 本 是 个 军 事 术 语，现 在 则 泛 指 纽 约 的 世 贸 中 心 遗 址。在 本 月 3 号，纽 约 市 地 标 保 护 委 员 会 投 票 决 定，在 Ground Z ero归 零 地 附 近 修 建 一 座 1 3层 高 的 伊 斯 兰 文 化 中 心 和 一 座 清 真 寺，而 这 一 决 定 也 是 触 动 了 很 多 美 国 人 的 神 经，在 上 个 周 末 很 多 美 国 人 前 往 世 贸 遗 址 表 示 支 持 或 反 对 这 一 计 划。Fox News是 美 国 的 一 家 新 闻 媒 体，是 少 数 的 保 守 派 媒 体 之 一，也 是 保 守 派 政 治 人 物 经 常 出 现 的 地 方。其 口 号 是 Fair and Balance(公 正 与 平 衡)。Saudi sta n d a rd沙 特 阿 拉 伯 标 准 草 案 彭 博 新 闻 社 创 始 人、纽 约 第 108任 市 长 迈 克 尔 彭 博(Michael Bloomberg)1942年 2 月 1 4日 出 生 于 一 个 中 产 阶 级 家 庭，犹 太 人 后 裔 instinctive caution 本 能 警 告 resembling courage.类 似 的 勇 气iftar开 斋 伊 夫 塔 早 餐 picky allowance挑 剔 的 津 贴 hedge用 树 篱 笆 围 住；避 免 作 正 面 答 复 emerging social consensus.新 兴 的 社 会 共 识。ballot initiative 主 动 投 票 slunk mumbling 慢 慢 喃 喃 Arizona飞 harsh law亚 利 桑 那 州 的 严 酷 的 法 律 Arizonasharsh new anti-immigration law,SB-1070,has already prompted an exodusof peopleboth legal and illegal residentsfrom the state.Of more concern,however,isthe controversial immigration laws impact on Arizonas housing market recovery.Realestate advocates explain that before the housing market crashed,thousands if not tensof thousands of people who are not legal residentspurchased houses in Arizona,inclusiveness and justice 包 容 性 和 公 正 admonition n.警 告 劝 诫 箴 言 oratorical gifts 演 讲 礼 品 grumbling nation 抱 怨 国 家 complain murmur atEditorialJobs and PoliticsPublished:September 4,2010The August employment report,released Friday,was not as bad as economists hadforecast.Unfortunately,exceeding low expectations and making progress are not thesame thing.Yet,speaking from the Rose Garden after the report was released,President Obama said the economy was moving in a positive direction.The economy lost 54,000 jobs in August,far fewer than forecast.The private sectoradded 67,000 jobs-and tallies for the past two months were revised upward 一 while the government sector,mostly the Census,shed 121,000 employees.Dig intothe numbers,however,and both sectors are in deep trouble.Growth in private jobs has slowed markedly this year,from a monthly average of119,000 in the first four months to 72,000 jobs on average in the past four months.That is not nearly enough to employ new workers,let alone make a dent in the ranksof the unemployed.Worse,most of the new jobs in August were in health care andfood service,where very low-paying jobs-like home care aides and fast-foodworkers-are concentrated.A job is better than no job,but jobs that do not amountto a living will not lift the economy.At the same time,government work is hemorrhaging.Many laid-off Census workershave nowhere to go but the unemployment line,since a slowing private sector cannotabsorb them.In addition,states and local governments shed 10,000 more employeesin August,for a total of 282,000 lost jobs in the past two years.Rather than supportingthe economy in time of trouble,states and localities are a drag on growth.Nor can working Americans provide much momentum.Since May,employers havenot added any time to the workweek,now 34.2 hours on average.As hours havestalled,so has weekly wage growth.Data in the August report suggests that theaverage paycheck,now$774.97 a week,is being stretched to support more familymembers:graduates who cannot find work,unemployed relatives whose joblessbenefits have expired,and underemployed workers who are working part time butneed full-time work.In all,the economy is still coming up short by nearly 1 1 million jobs.Theunemployment rate,persistently high at 9.6 percent in August,is down from a peak of10.1 percent last October.But the decline has come almost entirely because of peopledropping out of the work force or not entering-because there are no jobs to behad.This week,the Obama administration is expected to unveil a plan for jobs,but earlyword indicates that it will be a political response designed to campaign specifications,and not to the scale of the problem.Administration officials are said to be considering a package centered on business taxcuts,because those are presumably more palatable to Republicans-and toDemocrats who are afraid of losing to Republicans and cannot think of a betterresponse than to mimic their ideas.The administration seems to have forgotten that the Republicans who run the show inCongress are happy to oppose their own ideas if Mr.Obama embraces them.New taxcuts,especially in place of spending,are also dubious policy.When it comes tospurring growth,direct spending to increase demand in the economy is more effectivethan most tax cuts.One idea said to be on the table,suspending the employer share of the payroll tax,increases growth by$1.23 for every dollar in forgone revenue,while a dollar offederal spending for work-share programs adds$1.69 worth of growth.Mr.Obamahas also floated the idea of new infrastructure projects and clean-energy jobs.A largenational endeavor is needed to provide employment over the many years it will take torevive the labor market and to begin to build the foundation for sustained economicgrowth.That could be largely paid for by letting the Bush tax cuts expire for wealthyAmericans at years end,as they were originally intended to do and as Mr.Obama hascalled for.But a reasonable trade-off along those lines seems out of reach.There is no sign thatthe Republicans will cooperate with anything Mr.Obama wants.And the Republicanshave spooked Democrats into talking about tax cuts on the campaign trail.Mr.Obama has tried before to offer deficit reduction initiatives for more cooperationon job creation.His budget proposal earlier this year to freeze many categories ofdiscretionary spending was a failed attempt to win Republican support for a broadjobs bill last spring.Aside from reluctant and belated extensions of jobless benefits,the only significantjobs measures passed this year were a$13 billion hiring credit for employers and$26billion in aid to states.A large part of the hiring tax credit is likely to have gone toemployers who would have hired new workers anyway.The state aid was cut nearlyin half before it got through Congress.If this dynamic does not change,the danger to the economy will not come only from astalled job market,but from the stalled politics of Washington.A version of this editorial appeared in print on September 5,2010,on page WK7 ofthe New York edition.shed v t.流 出；摆 脱；散 发；倾 吐 v i.流 出；脱 落；散 布 n.小 屋，棚；分 水 岭 make a d e n t产 生 印 象；引 起 注 意 引 起 某 人 注 意 取 得 初 步 进 展 hemorrhaging 内 出 血 laid-off被 解 雇 的 下 岗 下 岗 人 员、a drag on grow th简 直 就 是 在 增 长 palatable a d j.美 味 的，可 口 的；愉 快 的 怡 人 的 mimic v t.模 仿，摹 拟 dubious p o lic y可 疑 的 政 策spooked n.鬼；幽 灵 v t.惊 吓；鬼 怪 般 地 出 没 v i.受 惊 deficit reduction initiatives 赤 字 削 减 措 施 discretionary a d j.任 意 的；自 由 决 定 的 斟 酌 处 理 的 随 意 的 The problem:Americans dont know the QuranBy Ism at Sarah M anglaIn August 1983,Muslim extremists set fire to an Ahmadiyya Muslim Communitymosque in Detroit,out of hatred for our beliefs.While the building was destroyed,2,000 copies of the Holy Quran miraculously survived the blaze.Once again,theMuslim holy book is threatened with fire.Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove WorldOutreach Center in Florida plans to burn copies of the Quran this Saturday,in ahorribly misguided remembrance of the victims of Sept.11,2001.Despite the denialof a city permit and pleas from faith leaders around the world(as well as a word ofwarn
