VOA慢速英语2010-IN THE NEWS - Aiming for Security for All

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

World leaders agreed this week to protect all nuclear materials within four years to stop the possibility of nuclear terrorism.

Leaders from forty-seven countries gathered in Washington for President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit. The president said groups like al-Qaida would surely use a nuclear weapon if they got one.

BARACK OBAMA: "All this, in turn, requires something else, which is something more fundamental. It will require a new mindset -- that we summon the will, as nations and as partners, to do what this moment in history demands."

Progress on a work plan for securing nuclear materials can be discussed when South Korea holds the next summit in two years.

World leaders gathered for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington

Several nations made individual promises, including Ukraine. It promised to give up all of its highly enriched uranium by two thousand twelve.

The United States and Russia signed an agreement to dispose of sixty-eight tons of weapons-grade plutonium. They plan to use the plutonium as fuel for civilian¹ nuclear reactors².

Last week, President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a nuclear arms agreement in the Czech Republic. It calls for America and Russia to each deploy³ a limit of one thousand five hundred fifty long-distance nuclear weapons -- a cut of about thirty percent.

A 2008 photo of a Russian missile carrier. Last week, Russia and the United States signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty.

The new agreement replaces the nineteen ninety-one Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START-One. The United States Senate and Russia's parliament must both approve the agreement for it to take effect.

One country that did not attend the Nuclear Security Summit was Iran. Discussions about Iran’s nuclear activities have intensified⁴ among the five permanent United Nations Security Council members and Germany. U.N. ambassadors from the five Council members and Germany met two times this week in New York. The Obama administration is pushing for a new U.N. resolution with actions against Iran.

After talks on Wednesday, France's ambassador said they were starting to negotiate on the substance of possible new measures. China's ambassador called the talks "very constructive⁵" and said they will continue. He said the six countries had a better understanding of each other's position.

In Washington, a military intelligence official told a Senate committee that Iran could be one year away from producing enough highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. But another military official said Iran would still need three to five more years to create such a weapon.

Iran is holding its own nuclear conference in Tehran this Saturday and Sunday. The Iranian government says its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes only.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iranian television that Iran is seeking cooperation and negotiation⁶ with world powers. But he also said his country was willing to deal with a plan that protects Iran’s rights, includes its independence and leaves out the nuclear issue.

That's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

6 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。