特朗普想买下格陵兰岛 格陵兰外交部回应:不卖

Greenland to Trump¹: ‘Not for Sale’

Greenland, the self-ruling territory of Denmark, told the United States Friday, “We are open for business, not for sale.”

Greenland’s foreign minister dismissed the idea of Denmark selling the territory. One day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with his advisers² about possibly buying the world’s biggest island.

The newspaper reported that Trump repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland. He even asked the White House counsel to explore the idea.

The report surfaced ahead of Trump's planned visit to Denmark in September. He is set to meet with the prime minsters of Denmark and Greenland. The Journal said that the planned visit is unrelated to the idea of buying Greenland.

Some Danish politicians have laughed at the idea.

“It has to be an April Fool’s joke,” wrote former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. His comments appeared on Twitter.

Another politician, Soren Espersen, told Danish broadcaster DR, “If he is truly contemplating³ this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad.” Espersen added, “The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous.”

But in 1917, Denmark did sell a group of islands in the Caribbean to the U.S. government for $25 million. The islands are now known as the U.S. Virgin⁴ Islands.

As for Greenland, U.S. President Harry⁵ Truman offered to buy the resource-rich island in 1946 for $100 million. Denmark refused the offer. The U.S. government also had no success in trying to buy Greenland and neighboring Iceland back in 1867.

Why Greenland?

The United States and other world powers are showing increasing interest in Greenland because of its location near the Arctic Circle. Last May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Russia's and China’s actions in the Arctic had to be watched closely.

Eighty percent of Greenland’s 2.2 million square kilometers is covered by ice. The island is home to about 57,000 people. They live along the coast. The economy depends largely on exports of shrimp⁶ and fish and aid from the government of Denmark.

Under a 1951 defense⁷ treaty with the United States and Denmark, the U.S. military operates Thule Air Base in Greenland. The base houses a radar⁸ station that is part of a missile defense system.

Last year, Denmark decided⁹ to help build two new airports in Greenland to prevent China from investing in the island.

Martin Lidegaard is a former Danish foreign minister. He told the Reuters news agency, “what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise and they want a much bigger influence.”

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

counsel - n. a lawyer who represents a person or a group

contemplate¹⁰ - v. to think about doing something

ridiculous - adj. extremely silly or unreasonable¹¹

resource - n. something (like oil or minerals) that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

3 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

4 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

7 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。

8 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

11 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。