VOA慢速英语2015 专家质疑有关朝鲜核武报告

AS IT IS 2015-03-19 Expert Questions Report on North Korea Nuclear Arms 专家质疑有关朝鲜核武报告

A former International Atomic Energy official has raised questions about claims made in a new report on North Korea. The report warns that North Korea could manufacture 100 nuclear weapons by 2020.

The warning came from the US-Korea Institute at John Hopkins University in the United States. The institute released the report last month. It said the North Korean government could greatly expand its nuclear and missile programs over the next five years. The report said that such an expansion could present “a serious challenge to the United States, Northeast Asia and the international community.”

Ollie Heinonen formerly¹ served as deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He spoke² with VOA’s Korean Service. Mr. Heinonen said he would be surprised if North Korea can make as many nuclear weapons in the next few years as the report predicted. He said he does not think any country has ever made 100 nuclear weapons in six years -- not even the United States.

Mr. Heinonen said the report examined the amount of nuclear material the North Korean government has -- not nuclear weapons. In his words, “there is a difference between having nuclear material for a weapon and having a nuclear weapon.” He added that a nuclear weapon is difficult to make and takes a lot of time to manufacture.

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 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。