No position change on Falkland Islands following referendum

 　　WASHINGTON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Obama administration on Tuesday said that its position regarding the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas to the Argentines, remains¹ unchanged, but acknowledged that the Falklands residents have clearly expressed their preference in a recent referendum.

　　"The residents have clearly expressed their preference for a continued relationship with the United Kingdom," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of the two-day referendum that ended Monday on the islands, in which 99.8 percent of participating voters chose to keep the archipelago a self- governing British overseas territory.

　　"That said, we obviously recognize that there are competing claims," Nuland told reporters at a regular news briefing here. " Our formal position has not changed. We recognize the de facto UK administration of the islands, but we take no position on sovereignty claims."

　　The islands, inhabited by less than 3,000 people, have been under British control since 1833, but are claimed by Argentina as well. The two countries fought a brief war in June 1982, resulting in the death of 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers.

　　Most countries in the Western Hemisphere stand behind Argentina, while the United States has called for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

　　The vast majority of the Falklands residents are of British descent. Argentina has dismissed the referendum as a meaningless publicity² stunt³ that carries no international legitimacy⁴.

1 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。

2 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

3 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

4 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。