美国敦促斯诺登从俄返回

 　　WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Tuesday U. S. intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden should be expelled and returned to the United States to face espionage¹ charges at home.

　　White House Spokesman Jay Carney said there are "regular communications between the U.S. government and the Russian government on a host of matters," including the Snowden case.

　　Snowden filed an official request for temporary asylum² in Russia on Tuesday after spending three weeks in limbo³ in the transit⁴ zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

　　"Our interest has always been in seeing him expelled from Russia and returned to the United States," said Carney, noting that Snowden "is not a human rights activist⁵. He is not a dissident."

　　Snowden is "accused of leaking classified information. He's been charged with three felony counts related to the leaking of classified information," he said.

　　Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor⁶, disclosed massive secret phone and Internet surveillance programs of the U.S. National Security Agency in early June.

　　Carney didn't give much hint as to how this case would impact U. S.-Russia relations, saying President Barack Obama "intends to travel to Russia in September for the G20 summit. And I don't have any further announcements with regard to that travel."

1 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

2 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

3 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。