2006年VOA标准英语-Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Disc

By Scott Stearns
White House
13 January 2006

President Bush and German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel say they will continue working together to convince Iran not to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it is not developing a weapon and is enriching uranium solely² for peaceful civilian³ purposes.

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Angela Merkel and George W. Bush answer reporters' questions during White House press conference, Friday
  

President Bush says he is working very closely with Chancellor Merkel and other European allies to determine what to do next to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon now that negotiations⁴ with Tehran have broken down.

After meeting with the chancellor at the White House, Mr. Bush said the next logical step in his mind is referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

"Iran armed with a nuclear weapon poses a grave threat to the security of the world," said George W. Bush. "And, countries such as ours have an obligation to step up, working together, sending a common message to the Iranians that the behavior - trying clandestinely⁵ to develop a nuclear weapon, or using the guise⁶ of a civilian nuclear weapon program to get the know-how⁷ to develop a nuclear weapon, is unacceptable."

Taking questions from reporters in the White House East Room, Chancellor Merkel said it is crucial for Iranian leaders to understand how serious the international community is about preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

She said recent statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioning the Holocaust⁸ and calling for an end to the state of Israel make a common approach to Tehran even more important.

"It is totally unacceptable what Iran has said recently, for example, as regards questioning the right of existence of Israel, the statements that were made with reference to the Holocaust, and it is essential, we feel, that the EU-3, together with the United States, take a common position here," said Angela Merkel.

Ms. Merkel said the international community is certainly not going to be intimidated⁹ by a country such as Iran.

But it is unclear whether the German and American leaders have the support of China and Russia to bring Iran before the Security Council. China and Russia both have the veto power to block any U.N. action.

Asked about a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry¹⁰ that referring Iran to the Security Council might complicate¹¹ matters, President Bush said the job now is to form a common consensus¹² behind what he says is a common objective.

"We did talk about the Chinese statement," he said. "Our job is to make it clear to all parties that it is in the world's interest that Iran not have a nuclear weapon, in other words, share the same goal. Once that goal is established, it makes it easier to come up with the strategy to achieve the goal."

The president said he will not prejudge Security Council action. Iran's Foreign Ministry says, if the country is brought before that body, European inspectors¹³ will lose their right to monitor Iran's nuclear activities.

President Bush and Chancellor Merkel discussed a wide array of issues, including Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq, the Middle East, NATO, bilateral¹⁴ trade and the fight against terrorism.

Chancellor Merkel again brought up her opposition¹⁵ to the U.S. detention¹⁶ center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, something she has said cannot and must not exist in the long term.

President Bush said the prison at a U.S. Navy base is a necessary part of protecting the American people in the fight against terrorism.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 clandestinely   

adv.秘密地，暗中地

参考例句：

• You should do your competing clandestinely, by disguising your export volumes and prices somehow. 你应该设法隐瞒出口数量和价格，暗中进行竞争。 来自辞典例句
• Darlington. Stevens's angst is clandestinely disclosed while he makes contact with other people. 就在史帝文斯与他人接触的当下，透露出一种不可言喻的焦虑气氛。 来自互联网

6 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。

7 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

8 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

9 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

12 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

13 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。