VOA慢速英语2015 美国和伊朗外交官继续讨论伊朗核项目

US, Iranian Diplomats¹ Continue Talks on Iran's Nuclear Program 美国和伊朗外交官继续讨论伊朗核项目

Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met again in Switzerland on Monday. They are trying to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program by the end of the month.

Diplomats are working to create a plan to make sure Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful in exchange for the U.S. lifting economic restrictions².

Mr. Kerry says the two sides are struggling to resolve political, rather than technical, issues.

He also says he does not know if a letter from Republican Party members of the U.S. Senate sent to Iranian leaders will cause problems for the talks. The letter warned that the next U.S. president could change any agreement the current administration reaches.

US seeks a political end to the conflict in Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry also says the U.S. must reach an agreement with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria. The country is reaching the four-year anniversary of a civil war in which more than 200,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.

Mr. Kerry made the remarks on U.S. television on Sunday. He says the U.S. and its allies will have to negotiate with Mr. Assad for a political change of power.

Syrian government media reported that Mr. Assad answered that he is waiting for action from the U.S. government to show what is behind Mr. Kerry’s words.

Vanuatu faces severe damage from storm

Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale is calling the cyclone³ that struck his country on Friday night “a monster.” Vanuatu includes more than 80 islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Cyclone Pam brought winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. It destroyed villages, trees and power lines.

Officials say at least eight people have died, but they expect to find more deaths when they are able to explore some of the smaller islands.

Aid workers are now concerned about disease. They also want to get food and water to residents, but reaching the islands with supplies is difficult. 

President Baldwin Lonsdale has called a state of emergency for the capital city of Port Vila. He says he will call another state of emergency for the other islands of Vanuatu when the country has communication again.

Mr. Lonsdale was in Japan when the cyclone hit. He and other government officials were attending a U.N. conference on reducing the risks of disaster.

Protesters in Brazil demand the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians entered the streets of cities across the country on Sunday. They are demanding the ouster President Dilma Rousseff over government corruption⁴.

The protests were mostly calm. But many members of the public are angry at Ms. Rousseff and her government. Lawyers are investigating many officials for taking money from construction and engineering companies in exchange for valuable contracts. Lawyers call the reported exchange the biggest corruption program ever discovered in Brazil.  

Ms. Rousseff herself is not being investigated. However, thousands of protesters in Rio de Janeiro sang the national anthem⁵ and shouted, “Dilma, out!”

Israeli elections: too close to call

Israelis will vote on Tuesday to elect a new parliament. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party is in a close race with a center-left alliance of parties. Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union is the leader of the alliance.

No single party is expected to win more than one-fourth of the 120 seats in the parliament. Instead, parties are seeking to make alliances in an effort to form a ruling coalition⁶.

Russian president Vladimir Putin appears after a 10-day absence

Russian president Vladimir Putin appeared before reporters in St. Petersburg on Monday, ending remarks that he was ill, dead or ousted⁷. Before Monday, the public had not seen Mr. Putin since March 5. Mr. Putin did not say what he was doing for 10 days. He only smiled and said life “would be boring without gossip.”

Words in the News

cyclone - n. an extremely large, powerful and destructive storm with very high winds

gossip – n. information about the behavior and personal lives of other people

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。