VOA标准英语2008年-Bush and Indian PM Singh Back Nuclear Deal

U.S. President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are backing a controversial deal to sell U.S. nuclear fuel to India. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports from Japan where the two men met on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations.
　
President Bush (right) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at G8 summit, 8 Jul 2008

President Bush says the nuclear deal is good for both nations as they work together to confront challenges including climate change and security.

It allows India access to atomic fuel and U.S. civilian¹ nuclear technology in exchange for India opening its facilities to inspection² by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.

But the accord, first announced in 2006, has yet to pass either nation's legislature with American critics saying it will lead to a nuclear arms race in Asia and Indian opponents saying it will give the United States too much influence over Indian nuclear activities.

India has tested nuclear weapons but has not signed the international nonproliferation treaty

India's communist parties Tuesday withdrew from the Singh government saying they will call for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister to protest the deal.

Mr. Singh's government is expected to survive with the support of a previously-unaligned party that now supports the nuclear accord.

Following their talks at the G8 summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, Prime Minister Singh said relations with the United States have never been better and the two nations must continue standing³ shoulder to shoulder. "We have made progress in all areas. We have progressed in nuclear cooperation, space cooperation, defense⁴ cooperation," he said.

President Bush said their meeting was a typical conversation among friends talking about common opportunities and world problems in a spirit of respect. "We talked about the India / U.S. nuclear deal and how important that is for our respective countries. We talked about the environment and how we can work together to grow our economies and at the same time be responsible stewards⁵ of the environment," Mr. Bush said.

President Bush blocked past G8 efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions⁷ because those limits did not apply to India and China. At this summit, those nations joined G8 countries in agreeing to the non-binding goal of halving⁸ greenhouse gas emission⁶ by 2050.

President Bush said he and Prime Minister Singh also discussed educational exchanges and the Doha round of world trade talks where he said the United States and India must ensure that protectionist sentiments do not prevent their economies from further growth.

　

 

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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。

5 stewards   

（轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家

参考例句：

• The stewards all wore armbands. 乘务员都戴了臂章。
• The stewards will inspect the course to see if racing is possible. 那些干事将检视赛马场看是否适宜比赛。

6 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网