English Quiz 144

(English Quiz 144)

1. This is not the messy state of affairs that Rice--the meticulously well-mannered, history-obsessed perfectionist--hoped to find herself in. If she has been more inclined than her peers to acknowledge the Administration's missteps, particularly in Iraq, she has yet to show she has the ability or will to correct them. Her accomplishments as Secretary of State have been modest, and even those have begun to fade. She pushed Bush to appoint the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, only to see him ignore the commission's call to pull back from the fight in Iraq; instead Bush plans to send more Americans there. She persuaded Bush to back European-led negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and even offer to talk directly to Tehran if it stopped enriching uranium. But she also supports the military's recent moves to beef up a presence in the Persian Gulf and target Iranian interests in Iraq. Although both Bush and Rice deny they have any hostile intent, there is anxiety in some foreign-policy circles that even as it struggles to avoid losing one war in Iraq, the Administration may provoke another one across the border in Iran.

Q: 試翻 "If she has been ... to correct them."

2. In recent years the Bush team has split over whether to abandon the ambition that underpinned the invasion of Iraq--to bring Western-style democracy to the Islamic world--in favor of conventional Realpolitik, in which idealism takes a backseat to stability. The most obvious signals that the U.S. is tilting back toward realism came on Rice's trip to the Middle East last month, in which she toned down calls for democracy for the Arabs and talked up her desire to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, something she and Bush have avoided for six years.

Q: 試翻 "In recent years ... takes a backseat to stability."

3. Rice's best qualities are her optimism and self-belief, but, like Bush, she is prone to stubbornness and resists admitting mistakes. Her uneven management of the State Department has left her without a strong team to execute bold new initiatives, even if she's inclined to pursue them. If Rice disagrees with Bush's determination to hold the line in Iraq, there are no signs that she has tried to change his mind. But right now a military victory in Iraq is out of reach; at most, the U.S. is fighting not to lose. And so the fate of Bush's legacy, and perhaps even the future shape of the international system, may hinge on whether Rice can pull off some kind of diplomatic breakthrough in the 23 months she has left. "Condi has a very positive frame of mind in the way she looks at the world and, I think, the way she looks at her job," says Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, a close adviser. "She's someone who believes every problem has a resolution." But answers won't be easy to find this time.

Q: 試翻 "Her uneven management ... to pursue them."