2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Backs Tough UN Action Against North Korea

By Scott Stearns
White House
14 October 2006 
 

		George W. Bush

U.S. President George Bush wants strong United Nations action against North Korea following the country's reported nuclear test.  Opposition¹ Democrats² say the president has not done enough to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

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President Bush says North Korea has again broken its word, provoked an international crisis and denied its people the opportunity for a better life.

Pyongyang says it conducted an underground nuclear test this past week. U.S. officials say air samples are consistent with an atomic explosion, but the Bush administration says there has been no final determination about whether Monday's blast was indeed nuclear. U.S. officials said Friday, results from an earlier test showed no evidence of radiological fallout.

In his weekly radio address, before the U.N. Security Council met, President Bush backed U.N. action against North Korea, demanding that it dismantle⁴ its nuclear program.

"By passing such a resolution, we will send a clear message to the North Korean regime that its actions will not be tolerated," said Mr. Bush.  "And we will give the nations with the closest ties to North Korea - China and South Korea - a framework to use their leverage⁵ to pressure Pyongyang, and persuade its regime to change course."

The president is resisting calls by outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for direct talks with North Korea. Mr. Bush favors a multilateral approach, involving the United States, China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan.

"The logic³ behind this approach is clear: North Korea's neighbors have the most at stake, and they are North Korea's principal sources of food, energy and trade," he added.  "So it makes sense to enlist⁶ them in the effort to get the North Korean regime to end its nuclear program."

That program has become a political issue in the United States, less than a month before congressional elections. Opposition Democrats say the president has been focusing on the war in Iraq, while North Korea and Iran advance their nuclear programs.

In the Democratic radio address, Pennsylvania Congressman⁷ Patrick Murphy said the president and Republicans in Congress have made America less safe, both at home and abroad.

"We have seen the number of terrorist attacks increase around the world," he said.  "We have seen North Korea and Iran, two members of the president's axis⁸ of evil, enhance their nuclear weapons capabilities⁹."

Murphy, who is an Iraq war veteran, says he has seen first hand the right and wrong way to engage in war. He says it is clear that President Bush and the Republican-led Congress have it wrong.

"My fellow soldiers continue to die in Iraq, without a clear mission, without benchmarks to determine success and without a clear timeline for coming home," he added.

President Bush says a timeline for the withdrawal¹⁰ of U.S. troops from Iraq would embolden¹¹ the enemy, and allow them to wait for American forces to leave.

1 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。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

5 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

6 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

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。

8 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

11 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。