VOA标准英语2008年-US, Poland, Reach Tentative Deal on Missile Def

U.S. officials say the United States and Poland have reached a tentative agreement under which part of a U.S. missile defense¹ system will be based on Polish soil. The deal to station interceptor missiles in Poland still requires top-level Polish government approval. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　
U.S. Patriot² anti-missile missile

A senior Bush administration official says the two sides have finalized³ the text of a draft accord, under which Poland will join the Czech Republic in hosting a regional U.S. defense system aimed against an anticipated long-range missile threat from Iran.

No terms of the tentative deal were disclosed though Poland had been seeking, in return for accepting the U.S. system, a multi-billion dollar upgrade of its air defense capabilities⁴.

The senior official said the deal was hammered out late Tuesday after two days of closed door Washington meetings this week between State Department officials and officials of the Polish defense and foreign ministries⁵.

The U.S. plan calls for the stationing of ten interceptor missiles in Poland and an associated advanced radar⁶ system in the Czech Republic. A tentative agreement with the Prague government was reached several weeks ago.

The planned system has been strongly opposed by Moscow, which contends, despite U.S. denials, that the anti-missile system would undercut its strategic nuclear deterrent⁷.

In a talk with reporters Wednesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Dan Fried said the United States has tried to address Poland's concerns about the Russian position and other key issues:

"The Poles have urged us to reach out to Russia with a serious offer on missile defense, and as you know, we have done so," he said. "The Poles, and the Czechs as well, have urged us to work more with NATO, and if possible get NATO's support for missile defense. We've done so successfully, at the NATO summit last April. And the Poles have also asked us to address Polish modernization⁸. And as you know we have agreed to that as well."

Fried, a key participant in the missile dialogue, hailed Poland as a magnificent ally of the United States, noting its role in the U.S.-led military coalitions⁹ in both Iraq and in Afghanistan, where Poland has recently increased its troop and aircraft contribution.

The senior official who spoke¹⁰ here said the next step in the process is up to the Polish leadership, and did not offer a timeframe for when the agreement would get final approval.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to discuss the missile defense issue, among others, on a European trip next week.

　

 

1 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。

2 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

3 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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

5 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 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。

7 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

8 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

9 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

10 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。