VOA常速英语2007年-Rice Says Enmity With North Korea, Iran, Syria

By David Gollust
State Department
21 December 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a year-end news conference Friday, left open the prospect¹ of better relations with U.S. adversaries² North Korea, Iran and Syria before the end of the Bush administration. Rice told reporters the United States doesn't have permanent enemies. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

The secretary of state made no attempt to minimize ongoing³ disputes, especially those with Iran over its nuclear program and ties to radical⁴ elements in the Middle East.

Rice would not rule out the possibility that the last year of the Bush administration might yield better relations with and possible visits to longtime adversaries like North Korea, Iran and Syria.

"We don't have permanent enemies, the United States doesn't," she said. "What we have is a policy that is open to ending conflict and confrontation⁵ with any country that is willing to meet us on those terms. And we've given very clear paths, with our allies, it's not a unilateral U.S, policy."

Rice reiterated⁶ an offer of open-ended dialogue with her Iranian counterpart at any time or venue⁷, provided the Tehran government met international demands to stop uranium enrichment.

At the same time, she rejected recent suggestions by some policy analysts⁸ that the United States engage with Iran without conditions.

She said the demand that Tehran halt enrichment is enshrined in multiple resolutions by the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency and reflects broad skepticism about Iran's professions of peaceful nuclear intentions.

"Why is it that this is at the center of the international effort on Iran? And it is because Iran should not be allowed to practice enrichment and reprocessing in order to solve the engineering problem of keeping (uranium centrifuge) cascades⁹ going in sequence so that they can learn to enrich, at first four percent, then 15 percent, then 50 percent, and eventually 98 percent and have fissile material for a nuclear weapon," she said.

Rice said the six-party accord, under which North Korea is to scrap¹⁰ its nuclear program in exchange for energy aid and diplomatic benefits, provides a clear pathway toward better political relation between Pyongyang and Washington.

She said she expects North Korea to honor the pledge it made in the Chinese-sponsored talks to make a complete and accurate declaration of all its nuclear programs, as required by year's end.

As to Syria, Rice noted¹¹ that despite strains in the relationship, the United State invited Damascus to the Annapolis Middle East peace conference last month at which Syria was allowed to make its case for a comprehensive regional accord that would return the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to Syria.

Rice said the gesture has not yet been reciprocated¹² by better Syrian behavior, especially in what the United States sees as Syrian efforts to prolong the political impasse¹³ in Lebanon over electing a new president.

"There are those who had hoped that Syria would show a more constructive¹⁴ attitude toward the region as a whole, having started down this path," she noted. "That has not yet happened and it is extremely important that Lebanon, the Lebanese, be able to go to their parliament and elect a president. By all accounts they have a consensus¹⁵ candidate that they believe they can elect. And one has to ask why can't they get to the parliament and elect this president?"

Rice said Syria should prevail upon its Lebanese allies to let the election proceed and end a political crisis described as the most dangerous in Lebanon since the end of its civil war in 1990.

She said it is key to get the process right. The statement seems to leave open the possibility that North Korea could miss the deadline without derailing the deal.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP an d AP.

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 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。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

7 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 cascades   

倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西

参考例句：

• The river fell in a series of cascades down towards the lake. 河形成阶梯状瀑布泻入湖中。
• Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. 现在他朝着太阳驶去，开始了穿越喀斯喀特山脉的漫长而曲折的路程。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

10 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

11 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。

12 reciprocated   

v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• Her passion for him was not reciprocated. 她对他的热情没有得到回应。
• Their attraction to each other as friends is reciprocated. 作为朋友，他们相互吸引着对方。 来自辞典例句

13 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

14 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

15 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？