VOA标准英语2008年-South Korean Officials Visit US Amid Beef Impor

By Stefan Bos
Seoul
09 June 2008

South Korean officials are traveling to the United States, in response to a growing public outcry over plans to resume imports of American beef. A month of street protests are expected to reach a new crescendo¹, this week, possibly costing some high-level officials their jobs. The protests have ended tragically² for at least one South Korean, as VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.
　

South Korean protesters stage a candlelight vigil against U.S. beef imports in front of the Seoul City Hall, 09 Jun 2008

Weeks of street protests opposing a deal to resume U.S. beef imports to South Korea have resulted in one death.

Doctors say a 40-year-old man, who set himself on fire two weeks ago at a protest rally, died this week at a Seoul hospital of his burns. The death may fuel already intense public emotion about South Korea's beef import deal.

Tens of thousands of candle-waving protesters have been gathering³ in downtown Seoul for weeks.

The gatherings⁴ have been mostly peaceful, with occasional clashes between police and more extreme demonstrators.

Lawmakers from the party of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak departed for Washington, Monday, for meetings with their American counterparts. Party Chairman Kang Jae-sup says the trip is designed as a follow-up to President Lee's weekend phone conversation with President George Bush.

He says he hopes the delegates will do a good job of explaining the current South Korean situation in Washington.

President Lee is also dispatching his vice⁵ minister of agriculture to Washington, to follow up on the phone call between the two presidents. Mr. Bush assured the South Korean president the United States would take measures to avoid exporting beef older than two and a-half years.

Protesters say older cattle pose a risk of transmitting the fatal brain condition known as "mad cow disease" to humans. South Korea banned American beef in 2003, after a single U.S. animal was found to have the disease. However, there has never been a single known case of a person contracting such disease from consuming U.S. beef. A United Nations scientific body has backed Washington's assertion that American beef, of all ages, is safe.

President Lee is now considering damage-control measures to ease public anger, from accepting the resignations of cabinet officials to brokering⁶ a voluntary private-sector ban on certain beef products. What he is reluctant to do is overturn the beef import deal completely. He says that could damage American trade ties on which South Korea depends.

Protests are expected to reach unprecedented⁷ levels, Tuesday, when posters around the city have called for a million South Koreans to take to the streets. The biggest gathering, so far, has been about 65,000 people.

1 crescendo   

n.(音乐)渐强，高潮

参考例句：

• The gale reached its crescendo in the evening.狂风在晚上达到高潮。
• There was a crescendo of parliamentary and press criticism.来自议会和新闻界的批评越来越多。

2 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

7 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。