VOA标准英语2008年-Rice Urges Iran to Accept Incentives Package

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday urged Iran to prove its interest in better relations by accepting the big-power offer of incentives¹ for Tehran to stop uranium enrichment. Rice was responding to interview remarks by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran wants to seek "common ground" with Washington on the nuclear issue. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Rice is challenging the Iranian leader to back up what are seen as conciliatory remarks in his television interview by accepting the incentives offer and halting the enrichment drive the United States considers as weapons related.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, in an unusual interview with a U.S. media outlet², told the NBC broadcast network Monday that Iran and the United States should try to find "common ground" in their respective positions on the nuclear issue and work for an agreement.

Rice, who spoke³ at a joint⁴ press appearance with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, said Iran can show its good faith and intentions by accepting the enhanced incentives package submitted last month by the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P Five Plus One.

"There's one way for the Iranians to make clear that they have found common ground," said Condoleezza Rice. "It's to come and say we accept the proposal, this is a good basis for the beginnings of pre-negotiations⁵ within a six week period, and then we can suspend our enrichment and reprocessing, and we can begin real negotiations. And the United States will fundamentally be at the table."

In mid-June, the P Five Plus One offered to suspend U.N. sanctions and provide Iran civilian⁶ nuclear aid and various other benefits if it stopped enrichment and returned to negotiations over its nuclear program.

In the six-week pre-negotiation period cited by Rice, the major powers would refrain from adding new sanctions if Iran stopped adding to its enrichment capacity.

At a July 19 Geneva meeting, attended by third-ranking State Department official William Burns, Iran offered a policy paper that proposed several more rounds of talks with big-power ministers but was non-committal about halting enrichment.

European Union chief diplomat⁷ Javier Solana gave Iran two additional weeks to come up with a definitive⁸ response and Rice said here if the incentives side of the process is not working, Iran can expect tighter sanctions on its economy.

For his part, Foreign Minister Frattini said Italy firmly backs the two-track strategy:

"Iran making a nuclear bomb is simply not acceptable," said Franco Frattini. "This is the Italian position which is very firm. We believe in the double-track strategy: on one hand putting on the table a generous offer, on the other hand standing⁹ very firm in confirming that if Iran does not take seriously negotiations with Europe and the international community, we cannot accept to stay inactive, and we will have to implement¹⁰ in full."

In the NBC interview, Mr. Ahmadinejad again denied Iran is working to produce nuclear weapons, suggesting they are relics¹¹ of the past century.

The two-week deadline set by Solana expires Saturday, though officials here said the major powers are prepared to wait an additional day or two for an official Iranian response.

 

 

1 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

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 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。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 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。

7 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

8 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

9 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。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。