2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Backs Referral of Iran's Nuclear 'Def

By David Gollust
Washington
12 January 2006

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday expressed strong U.S. support for the European move to take the issue of Iran's nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council. The secretary accused Iran of deliberately¹ escalating² the confrontation³ over the issue, but said the United States still hopes for a diplomatic solution.

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Condoleezza Rice 
  

The secretary of state endorsed⁴ the European decision in a statement to reporters, saying "provocative⁵" Iranian actions in recent days had shattered the basis for further talks between Iran and the EU-Three, and left no choice but to seek the Security Council referral.

The United States has long maintained that Iran's nominally⁶ peaceful nuclear program conceals⁷ an ambitious secret weapons effort, and supports taking the matter to the Security Council, which could impose a variety of sanctions against Tehran.

However, Secretary Rice stressed that taking the matter to the Security Council via an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency does not mean an end to diplomacy⁸ with Iran, but rather a new and more intensive phase of it.

Under questioning, she rejected a comparison between the current situation and activity in the Security Council leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"The situations are of course very different. The Security Council is a very important step because it brings a certain weight to the IAEA requirements that are currently not there. We would hope that what we will be able to do is get the answers that the Iranians need to give to the IAEA. We would hope to use the Security Council to get clarification on some of the issues that Iranians have refused to answer to this point. So I would just want to underscore that this is not an issue of the end of diplomacy," she said.

The secretary said it was premature⁹ to talk about possible U.N. sanctions or whether permanent Security Council members Russia and China, which have extensive commercial dealings with Iran, could be persuaded to support them.

She noted¹⁰ that both powers had been warning Iran not to take the actions it did this week at its nuclear sites that led to the deepening of the diplomatic confrontation.

She said she intended to speak shortly with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing as part of a far-reaching U.S. diplomatic push on the Iran issue.

It will include the dispatch of Under-Secretaries of State Nicolas Burns and Robert Joseph to Europe and elsewhere in the coming days to lay diplomatic groundwork for the special IAEA meeting and the Security Council deliberations that would presumably follow.

Officials here have acknowledged the difficulty of finding U.N. sanctions, if it came to that, which would penalize¹¹ the Iranian leadership but not the Iranian people who are already under severe economic pressure. 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  
  
Secretary Rice was at pains in her remarks to stress that the U.S. grievance¹² is not with the Iranian people but with the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and unelected clerical authorities who hold sway in Tehran.

"This is about the Iranian regime, and it is the Iranian regime that is isolating¹³ Iran. And I think you make a good point: nobody wants to see the Iranian people for whom we have enormous respect, it's a great culture, it's a great people that should be on the road to modernization¹⁴ and integration¹⁵ into the international system. We don't want to see those people isolated," she said.

The secretary said since he came to power last year, President Ahmadinejahd has done nothing but confront the international system on the nuclear issue, and with outrageous¹⁶ statements, the likes of which she said "have not been made in polite company" in many years.

She said his much publicized threats to wipe Israel off the map have only helped to "seal the view" internationally that Iran should not have access to nuclear weapons technology.

1 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

6 nominally   

在名义上，表面地； 应名儿

参考例句：

• Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒，可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
• The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。

7 conceals   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance. 他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals. 酒醉吐真言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

12 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

13 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

14 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

15 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

16 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。