2007年VOA标准英语-Envoys to N. Korean Nuclear Talks Turn to Chick

By Kurt Achin
Beijing
14 February 2007

Explaining the painstakingly¹ slow progress at the North Korean nuclear talks can be a complicated business. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Beijing that this week envoys³ found it useful to look for inspiration to the barnyard, and beyond, when trying to describe their efforts.

While the highly sensitive wheeling and dealing⁴ was in progress this week in Beijing, envoys were reluctant to discuss specifics, for fear of affecting the outcome.

So they often spoke⁵ in metaphors⁷. Case in point: U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill on Friday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill

"We can be cautiously optimistic, but we do not want to count our chickens before they hatch," he said.

Hill's North Korean counterpart, chief negotiator Kim Kye Kwan, found the U.S. expression an apt way to summarize the talks' progress.

Kim agreed with Hill on Friday that it was indeed too early to be counting chickens.

South Korean chief envoy² Chun Yung-woo refused to chicken out when pushed by reporters to comment on the talks' progress.

Chun would not comment on when the chickens might hatch - but he did say the envoys were not dealing with unfertilized eggs.

After awhile, Hill apparently⁸ felt the talk of poultry⁹ had gone a bit far, and he poked¹⁰ a little fun at himself and his partners.

"Well - we are not going to sit on the eggs till they hatch," he said.

Does that mean Hill abandoned the metaphors? He did not. He just turned his attention to another animal.

"There is no magic in diplomacy¹¹. I mean, whenever you pull a rabbit out of a hat, it is because you have spent a lot of time - boy, a lot of time - trying to stuff that rabbit down into the hat," he said.

Later, Hill invoked¹² one of his favorite leisure pursuits - American football - and the analogy of the game's often slow, incremental¹³ progress toward victory.

"It is always three yards, three yards, three yards, and it is always fourth and one," he hoted. "And, then you make a first down and do three more yards. That is an American football metaphor⁶, I apologize."

What he may have meant was, when dealing with North Korea, it is best not to put the cart before the horse.

1 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

7 metaphors   

隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
• Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

10 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句