Brown move to cut UK nuclear subs

The prime minister is to tell the United Nations that he is willing to cut the UK's fleet of Trident missile-carrying submarines from four to three.

Gordon Brown will make the offer at a meeting of the UN Security Council on halting the spread of nuclear weapons and reducing existing stockpiles（储存）.

The proposed cuts come as the government searches for ways to reduce the massive deficit¹ （赤字）in public finances.

However Number 10 said keeping the UK's nuclear deterrent² was "non-negotiable".

At the UN meeting, Mr Brown will call for all nations to come together to achieve the long-term ambition of a nuclear-free world.

Nuclear warheads

He will say: "If we are serious about the ambition of a nuclear-free world we will need statesmanship, not brinkmanship."

US President Barack Obama is chairing the meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday as part of the process of drawing up a replacement³ for the Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to stop countries developing nuclear weapons.

Mr Obama has said he will try to negotiate with Moscow to reduce US and Russian nuclear warheads - which make up 95% of the world's total - from 2,000 each to 1,500.



Clegg: 'It's an important development'
The UK government says it has cut its stockpile of Trident warheads（三叉戟弹头） from 200 to 160 but many Labour MPs would like it to scrap⁴ the weapons altogether.

But the Liberal Democrats⁵ are the only party to say they would not seek a "like for like replacement" for Trident - which is due to need replacing by 2024.

Officials travelling with the prime minister warned that reducing the number of submarines, which are based at Faslane on the Clyde, from four to three would not result in a 25% cut in cost.

Estimates for the cost of replacing Trident vary - the government puts it at between £15bn and £20bn but Greenpeace says it could cost £34bn, once extra costs like VAT⁶ and exchange rates are taken into account.

Costs 'unclear'

Greenpeace and the Lib Dems say the overall cost - including the lifetime running costs of the system - amount to nearly £100bn.

Professor Ron Smith, a defence economist⁷ at Birkbeck College, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that going from four to three submarines （潜艇）would probably have little effect on Britain's nuclear capability⁸.

"The idea of having four of them is essentially（本质） you have got one spare as insurance," he said.


As President Obama said in Prague, this is a very long-term goal which may outlive his children, not just himself

David Miliband
Foreign Secretary
He added that the cost of replacing Trident was "very unclear" but working on the MoD's estimate of £20bn, losing one submarine would only save "a couple of billion" in about 2020 as there were a lot of fixed⁹ costs upfront and each boat cost less to build than the last one.

Downing Street says maintaining an independent nuclear weapon system is "non-negotiable".

Foreign Secretary David Miliband added: "We reject unilateral nuclear disarmament for ourselves precisely¹⁰ because the world cannot end up in a situation where responsible powers get rid of their weapons, but the danger of nuclear proliferation by other powers remains¹¹.

"As President Obama said in Prague, this is a very long-term goal which may outlive his children, not just himself."

'Useless weapons'

The Liberal Democrats have pointed¹² out that Mr Brown does not appear to be proposing reducing Britain's total number of warheads.

But leader Nick Clegg said it was still an important development. He told the BBC: "I really do welcome that finally the dam has burst on this.

"It's just unrealistic for us to believe that we can foot the £100bn like-for-like replacement costs for Trident over the next 25 years.

"I think the strategic context in which that decision is taking place is very different as well - we're not facing the Cold War threat in the same way that we once were."

Kate Hudson, chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), said the proposals were "a serious and positive first step towards the scrapping¹³ of both the current Trident nuclear weapons system and its replacement".

But she said the ultimate goal should be total disarmament. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

10 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。