VOA标准英语10月-US, South Korean Troops Plan to Rehearse Massive

.S. and South Korean military officials confirm the two allied¹ nations are planning a major military drill, expected to begin this week. The exercise focuses on a simulated marine² landing and comes at a time when North Korea has sharpened its rhetoric³ against the South. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin reports.
　

South Korean AH-1S Cobra helicopter takes off during a drill at an army firing range in Yangpyeong, 28 Oct 2008

South Korea's Marine Corps⁴ released an official statement Wednesday, confirming the country's forces will cooperate with the United States in a joint⁵ military drill, starting Thursday and continuing through to November 8.

Dave Palmer, a spokesman for U.S. Forces in Korea, says it will involve about 10,000 personnel - mainly Marines.

"It's just an amphibious landing, I mean it's that rehearsal⁶ of all the elements it takes to pull that off," he said.

North and South Korea remain technically⁷ at war. The North invaded the South in 1950. Months later, U.S. Marines staged their historic amphibious landing at Korea's port city, Incheon. The operation succeeded, despite unfavorable conditions. It became the first of many amphibious landings that drove North Korean forces back to the North-South border outlined in a 1953 armistice⁸. The United States stations about 28,000 forces in South Korea and has vowed⁹ to supply many more in the event of another North Korean attack.

Wednesday's South Korean Marine statement says this month's amphibious drill will involve 27 naval¹⁰ ships, more than 30 helicopters and about 70 other amphibious landing vehicles.

About 2,000 U.S. Marines are being brought to South Korea from bases in Okinawa, Japan, to work side by side with nearly 8,000 South Korean counterparts in the drill. It is to be centered near South Korea's port city, Pohang, and will include practice crossings of a large South Korean river.

For decades, North Korea has denounced joint South Korean-American military exercises as a rehearsal for aggression¹¹ against the North. Palmer, the U.S. spokesman, says the upcoming exercise is routine.

"It's not done in any provocative¹² manner of any means. It's just training. Everybody's notified. It's just part of our normal cycle," he said.

This exercise comes at a sensitive time in inter-Korean relations. On Tuesday, North Korea threatened to turn the South into "debris¹³" in reprisal¹⁴ for leaflets launched into the North by private groups.

Also Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro¹⁵ said North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was probably hospitalized and not in very good condition. The North Korean leader's health is a serious security issue because no one is sure if the North's authoritarian¹⁶ system can hold together without him.

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

14 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

15 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

16 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。