VOA常速英语2008年-NATO Leaders, Putin Meet in Bucharest

By Paula Wolfson
Zagreb, Croatia
04 April 2008
 

NATO leaders wrapped up their summit in Bucharest, Romania with a closed-door meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  VOA's Paula Wolfson reports participants say there were no breakthroughs but there was no confrontational¹ language either.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hope Scheffer opened the session with brief public remarks.

"Today, our relations are truly multi-facetted, influenced both by political realities and issues on which we differ as well as by practical and very pragmatic common interests," he said.

And then the news media was ushered² out, and the doors were closed.

When it was all over, President Putin gave his take on the meeting at a press conference.  He said he was pleased with the discussions, and said there can be no return to the Cold War.

He spoke³ through an interpreter:

"Maybe there are some interests which would want to gain some opportunities in the murky⁴ waters of another cold war," he said.  "But global players - I mean neither the Europe, nor the United States, nor Russia has any interest in returning to the past.  There is no need for this."

But the Russian leader lashed⁵ out at the eastward⁶ expansion of NATO.

"The appearance of a powerful military bloc⁷ along our borders would be taken in Russia as a direct threat to the security of my country," he added.

On Thursday, the western military alliance turned down a bid by Georgia and Ukraine to be put on an immediate⁸ path to membership.  But NATO members declared they intend to eventually bring the two former Soviet¹⁰ republics into the fold.

Just hours before President Putin met with summit leaders, the alliance discussed the outlook for eventual⁹ membership with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. 

Speaking thru an interpreter, Mr. Yushchenko the membership decision in the best possible light, focusing on the promise of future action.

"This is the first time when it was clearly determined¹¹ that Ukraine will be in NATO," he said.  "This is an historic event for our people and our country."

Two Balkan nations were invited to join the alliance at the Bucharest summit - Croatia and Albania.  Shortly after the summit came to an end, President Bush arrived in Zagreb, the Croatian capital.

During his 24 hour visit, Mr. Bush will celebrate the NATO invitation with Croatian and Albanian leaders.

He then heads to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi for his final face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin before he steps down as Russian president next month.  A senior U.S. official said President Bush sees it as a meeting of two old war horses.  Mr. Putin's successor Dimitri Medvedev will also take part in the discussions.

1 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

2 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

5 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

7 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。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

10 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。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。