2006年VOA标准英语-US Official Holds Talks with India on Nucl

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
20 January 2006

A top U.S. official says the United States is committed to implementing¹ a landmark² nuclear deal that will give India access to civilian³ nuclear technology. U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns has concluded two days of talks with Indian officials in New Delhi.

----------------------------------------------

Nicholas Burns, left, with Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran  
  

At the end of his talks, U.S Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said the nuclear deal being negotiated between India and the United States is complex and difficult, but both sides are working to resolve the details.

Both countries want to hammer out the deal by the time President Bush visits India some time either late next month or early March.

Mr. Burns says he hopes the agreement will be in place in the not-too-distant future.

"We remain hopeful that we will be able to achieve this agreement," Burns said. "It is a very difficult undertaking⁴ and it is a unique undertaking. I am not sure any two governments have actually had negotiations⁵ quite like this, and there is a complexity⁶ and difficulty to these talks which is inherent in the subject."

In a major policy shift, the United States last July signed a controversial nuclear deal with New Delhi agreeing in principle to provide nuclear technology and equipment for India's civilian energy program.

In exchange for the nuclear technology which India had been long denied, New Delhi will have to separate its civilian and nuclear programs and allow international inspection⁷ of its atomic facilities. The talks in New Delhi focused on how to accomplish that task.

The agreement will also have to be ratified⁸ by the U.S. Congress before it can be implemented⁹. But Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran hoped that a ground swell¹⁰ of goodwill¹¹ for India in the United States will enable the deal to go through.

Both countries also discussed the issue of Iran, which the West suspects is using its nuclear program to build atomic weapons.

Mr. Burns accused Iran of overstepping the limits of international law in seeking to pursue what he called its nuclear ambitions and called it a threat to peace. He said Iran should be referred to the Security Council for action.

However, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran says New Delhi is in favor of building a broad international consensus¹² on the issue.

"It stands to reason that India which has with Iran a very close, long-standing and what we call a civilizational relationship with its people, we would not like to see a situation of confrontation¹³ developing in a region that is very close to India and therefore our advise has always been confrontation should be avoided," said Saran.

Despite their differences, both sides stressed that they share a close and warm relationship.

1 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

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 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

5 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。

6 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

11 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

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 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。