VOA慢速英语2015 美日关系:强大且欲变更强

AS IT IS 2015-04-20 US-Japan Relationship: Strong and Getting Stronger 美日关系:强大且欲变更强

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making plans to visit the United States later this month. His visit will come at a time when relations between the two countries are strong and growing stronger.

A high-level State Department official agrees that the U.S. and Japanese governments hold similar positions on many issues.

In recent years, Japan has supported U.S. policies and actions in many parts of the world. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he welcomes Japan’s increasingly active involvement in the international community.

“We are close partners on the world stage, fighting Ebola, mitigating¹ the impact of climate change, countering violent extremism, eliminating the threat of ISIL and other groups that challenge us.”

Recently, Secretary of Defense² Ashton Carter visited Japan and South Korea. He spoke³ about President Barack Obama’s decision to “rebalance towards Asia” -- increasing the U.S. government’s attention on the area.

Antony Blinken says the United States will protect Japan from any threats it may face, including those arising from territorial⁴ disputes in the East China Sea.

“We have made it very clear that we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine in any way the Japanese administration.”

Joshua Walker is a fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, D.C. He says China’s increasing activities in the Western Pacific have helped to strengthen the ties between the United States and Japan.

“A lot of this is driven by China. It’s kind of the elephant in the room, if you will. China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, and also in the Senkaku/Diaoyu island dispute has driven Japan much closer to the U.S. in a lot of ways.”

In 2014, 59 members of the U.S. Congress created a group to support relations between the United States and Japan. The new U.S.-Japan Caucus⁵ has members from the both Democratic and Republican parties. Texas Congressman⁷ Joaquin Castro is a Democrat⁶ and one of the leaders of the group.

“Japan is our most trusted ally in the Pacific region, and as we go forward we share an interest in human rights, in democracy, in trade and in making sure that our shared values are spread throughout the world.”

Words in This Story

unilateral – adj. involving only one group or country

undermine – v. to make (something or someone) weaker or less effective, usually in a secret or gradual way

elephant in the room – idiom an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about

region – n. a part of a country or the world that is different or separate from other parts in some way

1 mitigating   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Are there any mitigating circumstances in this case ? 本案中是否有任何情况可以减轻被告的罪行？ 来自辞典例句
• A sentencing judge is required to consider any mitigating circumstances befor imposing the death penalty. 在处死刑之前，要求量刑法官必须考虑是否有任何减轻罪行之情节。 来自口语例句

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 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。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。