VOA常速英语2008年-North Korea: US-S. Korea Military Exercises Thr

By Kurt Achin
On Board the USS Nimitz, Sea of Japan
03 March 2008

North Korea is warning this week's large-scale military exercises between the United States and South Korea could damage diplomatic efforts to end the North's nuclear weapons programs. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, where U.S. Navy pilots are supporting the annual military drills with round-the-clock flight missions.

One after another, U.S. F-18 fighter jets soared from the deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, catapulting from a total standstill to speeds of about 300 kilometers an hour in just three seconds.

The maneuvers¹, taking place all week in waters east of the South Korean city of Busan, are part of the annual military drill named "Key Resolve." As they do every year, U.S. and South Korean forces are fine-tuning their cooperation in defending South Korea against a potential North Korean attack.

North Korea invaded the South in 1950. An armistice² was signed three years later, but there was never a formal peace treaty to conclude the conflict.

On Monday, the communist North repeated its condemnation³ of the exercises, which it views as aggressive. The North's official news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry⁴ official in Pyongyang as saying the maneuvers "will only put a brake on the process of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Pyongyang is already three months overdue⁵ in providing a declaration of its nuclear activities it promised to produce by the end of 2007. The declaration is part of a broader deal to trade financial aid and diplomatic incentives⁶ for the North's gradual elimination⁷ of its nuclear arsenal⁸.

U.S. officials reject accusations⁹ this week's drills are offensive in nature. Rear Admiral Terence Blake, commander of the Nimitz strike group, says the vessels¹⁰' mission is the same wherever it is deployed¹¹.

"To promote peace, stability, prosperity, in any region it [Nimitz] goes into. That is our goal," he said. "When we go out and we do these exercises the idea behind the exercises is to promote those three concepts. That is it."

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006. As it has done frequently in the past, North Korean media said the U.S. military drills may lead it to bolster¹² what Pyongyang calls its nuclear "deterrent¹³."

1 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

2 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

8 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

13 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。