VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Urges Iran to Accept EU Nuclear Proposals

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama has called on Iran to accept a European proposal to halt its nuclear activities. Obama, who has been meeting in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, called the standoff with Iran extremely serious. Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.

Barack Obama's remarks came as he is winding¹ up a world tour that has taken him to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Germany. He spoke² at a joint³ news conference with President Sarkozy in Paris, following talks between the two that touched on Afghanistan, Iraq and climate change, among other issues.

On Iran, Obama said the international community must send a clear message to Tehran regarding its nuclear program, which the Iranian government insists is for purely⁴ peaceful purposes. He urged Iran to accept proposals to freeze its uranium enrichment program, which the U.S. and European Union fear is part of a secret effort to build nuclear weapons.

"My expectation is that we're going to present a clear choice to Iran: change your behavior and you will be fully⁵ integrated into the international community with all the benefits that go with that. Continue your illicit⁶ nuclear program and the international community as a whole will ratchet up pressure with stronger and increased sanctions. And we should have no illusion that progress will come easily," he said.

Iran has been given two weeks to answer to a demand by world powers that it suspend its uranium enrichment activities following a meeting in Geneva last weekend.

Obama also said again that Afghanistan was a war the international community had to win.

The democratic presidential hopeful has been given an enthusiastic welcome during his European stops. He spoke before an estimated crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin, Thursday, an unprecedented⁷ turnout for a U.S. presidential candidate abroad.

　

In an interview printed in Le Figaro newspaper Friday, President Sarkozy called Obama "his buddy⁸" and said he had always believed Obama would win the Democratic primaries. After Paris, Obama next travels to London where he wraps up his international trip.

 

 

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

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。

8 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！