2007年VOA标准英语-Indian Left Meets to Discuss Government's Nucle

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
22 August 2007

In India, communists are meeting to decide whether they will withdraw crucial support from the Congress-led coalition¹ government if it presses ahead with a civilian² nuclear agreement with the United States. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi that there are fears the dispute could threaten the government.

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, D. Raja talks to the media outside the Parliament in New Delhi, 20 Aug 2007

Senior leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M) began a two-day meeting in New Delhi Wednesday. It comes days after they delivered an ultimatum³ to the Congress-led government, saying: stall a civilian nuclear deal recently negotiated with the United States, or face "serious consequences."

The deal would give India access to long-denied nuclear technology to build nuclear power plants in the energy-starved country. It has yet to be approved by the U.S. Congress.

India's leftist parties object strongly to the accord. They say it undermines the country's sovereignty and its right to conduct nuclear tests. They insist the government stall negotiations⁴, scheduled with the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, until their objections are met.

The CPI(M) is trying to agree on a strategy toward the government if it presses ahead with the accord. Withdrawal⁵ of support from the government is one option under consideration.

Independent political analyst⁶, Prem Shankar Jha, says the communists will back down from their tough posture⁷ if they are offered a compromise - but he sees no signs of this.

"They (left parties) are looking for a face-saver to be offered to them by the Congress, and there is to my mind no real sign so far that the Congress is intending to give them the face-saver," he said. "They have said everything they can in parliament over and over again. They have stuck to what they have said."

Manmohan Singh (File)

Indeed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has indicated he has no intentions of backing out of the deal.

He says his government remains⁸ committed to developing a nuclear energy capability⁹ to meet the needs of a rapidly growing economy. He urges political parties to appreciate the need to pursue a sound energy security strategy.

But leftist parties insist the nuclear deal will bring India into a strategic partnership¹⁰ with the United States - something they do not want to endorse¹¹.

A bloc¹² of four leftist parties, of which the CPI (M) is the largest, has 60 lawmakers in parliament. They have not joined the Congress-led coalition government, but shore it up from outside. Without their support, it could stay in office as a minority government or may have to face early elections. The Congress-led coalition came to power in 2004.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 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。

3 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

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 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。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

12 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。