VOA常速英语:US Congress Gives Netanyahu Speech An Enthusiastic Response

短语讲解：

1. Netanyahu said the Middle East now stands at a crossroads, and commended the courageous Arab protesters who have taken to the streets in a number of countries.

at a crossroads处在关键时刻, 在紧要关头
例句：He’s at a crossroads in his career—either he stays in his current job and waits for promotion, or he accepts this new post in Brazil.
他的事业正处在紧要关头，要么继续干目前的工作，等着升职，要么就接受巴西的新工作。

2. He pointed out that Israel has long had a robust democracy and that its citizens enjoy civil liberties denied elsewhere in the Middle East.

point out指出
例句：If I make any mistakes, please point them out.
如果我出了错, 请指出来。

3. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out.

stand out坚持
例句：The garrison will stand out for some time.
守卫部队能坚持一些时间。

4. The Israeli Prime Minister singled out Iran as one of the most powerful forces opposing democracy in the region, and warned of the ongoing danger he said Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons poses.

warn of发出关于…的警告
例句：The weather station warned of severe snowfalls ahead.
气象台预报将有大雪。

5. Senator Reid said negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians must take place at the negotiating table - and nowhere else - not in speeches.

take place发生; 举行
例句：The threatening strike did not take place after all.
可能来临的罢工终究没有发生。
negotiating table谈判桌

6. Netanyahu also called for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stand before his people and declare that he will accept a Jewish state, and to tear up his unity pact with the militant organization Hamas.

tear up抛弃；撕毁、取消(契约、协议、合同等)
例句：They soon tore up the trade agreement.
他们不久就撕毁了贸易协定。

7. He also said Israel must continue to have a military presence in the Jordan Valley, and that Jerusalem must never be divided.

military presence驻军
例句：The united nation maintain a military presence in the area. 
联合国在该地区驻有军队。 

8. A spokesman for the Palestinian president quickly responded to the Israeli leader's speech to Congress, saying Netanyahu had put more obstacles in the way of a Middle East peace agreement by imposing impossible conditions.

in the way of妨碍；在…方面，关于
例句：Her social life got in the way of her studies.
她的社交活动妨碍了自己的学业。

9. Palestinians say peace must be based on the 1967 boundaries and they will not accept any Israeli military presence in their future state.

be based on根据，以…为基础
例句：This novel is based on fact.
这部小说是以事实为根据的。