VOA常速英语2008年-Russia Warns of New Arms Race in Outer Space

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
12 February 2008

Russia is warning of a new arms race if a treaty banning the deployment² of weapons in outer space is not achieved.  Russia and China have jointly³ presented a draft treaty to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament that would prohibit the deployment of weapons in space and the threat or use of force against satellites or other spacecraft.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

In presenting the draft treaty text to the 65-member U.N. Conference on Disarmament, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned there could be no international security without preventing an arms race in space.  

Speaking through an interpreter, he said the world's military and political equilibrium⁴ would be endangered unless strategic stability is maintained.

"Apart from this, weapons deployment in space by one state will inevitably⁵ result in a chain reaction," Lavrov said.  "And, this, in turn, means a new spiral in the arms race both in space and on the Earth...  The task of preventing an arms race in space is on the Conference's agenda.  And, we are convinced that it is time, by way of preemption to start serious practical work in this field.  Otherwise, we may miss the opportunity.  As you know, to prevent a threat is always easier than to remove it." 

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 bans nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from space.   The United States opposes a new agreement that would place limits on its use of outer space.

Lavrov expressed his country's concern about Washington's increasing efforts to deploy¹ an anti-missile defense⁶ shield in Europe.

The United States wants to place 10 interceptor missile sites in Poland by 2012 and radar⁷ stations in the Czech Republic.  Washington says a shield is needed to ward⁸ off attacks by Iran and other so-called rogue⁹ states.

But during a news conference, the Russian foreign minister told journalists that Iran had no missiles and posed no threat.  Lavrov said the U.S. plan posed big problems for Russia.

"The intercepting¹⁰ missiles which are to be stationed in Poland would be able, capable of threatening the Russian missile arsenal," Lavrov said.  "When they tell us that it is not aimed against Russia, we are not guided by the intentions, but rather by facts, by capabilities¹¹." 

Sergei Lavrov said the ABM or anti-ballistic-missile treaty concluded between the United States and Soviet¹² Union succeeded in maintaining strategic stability by preventing an arms race in outer space.

He said Washington's decision to abandon the ABM treaty in 2000 was a mistake and has had a destabilizing effect in terms of military and political security.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

4 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

5 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

9 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

10 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

11 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

12 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。