VOA慢速英语2014 关于金正恩的笑话一点都不好笑

 

AS IT IS 2014-07-27 Jokes about Kim Jong Un Are No Laughing Matter 关于金正恩的笑话一点都不好笑

Many Americans enjoy making jokes about political leaders in the United States.  Even those leaders often laugh about themselves.

But North Koreans see such humor¹ differently.  They say jokes about their Supreme² Leader, Kim Jong Un, threaten their country.

For example, last April North Korean officials visited a hair cutting shop in London.  The officials objected to a picture in the shop.  The picture showed Kim Jong Un, who has a lot of hair on top of his head and very little on the sides.  Words below the picture asked: “Bad hair day?”

Earlier in July North Korean officials protested³ a new movie about North Korea.  Ja Song Nam is North Korea’s ambassador⁴ to the United Nations.  He asked the U.N. to block the humor movie “The Interview.”  The film is about two men who plan to kill Mr. Kim.

Mr. Ja said the movie supported terrorism and was an act of war.

This week, North Korean officials asked China to stop spreading an Internet video that makes jokes about Mr. Kim.  One part of the video shows U.S. President Barack Obama striking⁵ Mr. Kim.

A report about the video appeared in a North Korea newspaper.  The report said the video questions Mr. Kim’s leadership power.

North Korea experts said they are not surprised by North Koreans’ anger about the jokes.

Katharine H.S. Moon leads the Korea Studies office at The Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.  She said laughing about their leaders or country is not part of the North Korean culture. 

She said, North Koreans consider Mr. Kim and his family gods.  So, laughing about them is very insulting⁶.

Ms. Moon said she did not believe North Korea’s claims that an American comedy movie would make people want to kill Mr. Kim.

But, Ms. Moon said officials are right to be worried about protecting Mr. Kim’s power.  He is young and does not have much experience or friendships with foreign leaders. 

She said he has to earn the respect and trust of the older military and Korean Worker’s Party leaders.

Ms. Moon said the Chinese video is especially troubling to North Korean officials. China has been friendly to North Korea.  But recently each country has shown distrust of the other.

Recently China has permitted anti-Kim and anti-North Korea expressions in the media. And North Korea has criticized⁷ China for restricting⁸ oil and behaving in a friendly way to the South Korean president.

Another reason for North Korean anger about the jokes could simply be because Mr. Kim is not sure of himself. 

1 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

5 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

6 insulting   

侮辱的

参考例句：

• She was really insulting to me. 她对我实在粗鲁无礼。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

7 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

8 restricting   

v.（以法规）限制( restrict的现在分词 )；约束；束缚

参考例句：

• laws restricting immigration into the US 美国限制外来移民的法律
• She argued for import control, ie the restricting of imports. 她主张实行进口限制。 来自辞典例句