VOA标准英语2009年-US and Russian Officials Work on New A

 

US, Russian negotiators expect an agreement on a new follow-on treaty to the 1991 START-1 pact¹ by the end of the month

André de Nesnera | Washington 06 December 2009

Former President of the Soviet² Union Mikhail Gorbachev (L), former US President George H.W. Bush (R), German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel (back L) and former US First Lady Barbara Bush (back R) in Berlin (File Photo - 31 Oct 2009)

New treaty would levels of reduce nuclear weapons levels to "somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675 deployed⁴ strategic warheads and somewhere probably below 800 strategic nuclear delivery systems," says Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association

U.S. and Russian negotiators are continuing talks in an effort to agree on a new follow-on treaty to the 1991 START-1 pact that expired Saturday, December 5. Both sides say an agreement is more likely at the end of the month. 

The START-1 agreement is one of the most complex treaties in history dealing⁵ with reducing nuclear weapons. It was signed in 1991 by U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. It came into force in 1994.

Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, a private research firm, says that treaty helped end the Cold War.

"It slashed⁶ U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces from 1990 levels of about 10,000 deployed strategic warheads each down to approximately 6,000 by the year 2001," said Kimball. "And it also established a far-reaching network and system of on-site inspections⁸, verification provisions, information exchanges to provide each side with high confidence that the other was complying with the terms of the treaty."

Frank Miller⁹, a former senior official on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush says those verification provisions are crucial.

"It's important to have confidence. It's important to have on the ground inspections which this treaty provisions call for," said Miller. "It's important to have exchanges of telemetric data. So in addition to what each side's own intelligence services are able to pick up, the treaty provides additional information which has always been seen as being of great confidence-building value."

Daryl Kimball says since the START-1 treaty was signed, the United States and Russia have slashed their strategic nuclear arsenals¹⁰ even more.

"Today, the United States deploys¹¹ approximately 2,200 strategic warheads on approximately 800 strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, which is the jargon¹² for the missiles and the bombers¹³ with long ranges," added Kimball. "Russia deploys somewhere slightly above 2,200 strategic warheads today on a smaller number of strategic delivery vehicles estimated to be around 620. So both sides have gone well below the original START-1 ceilings for their nuclear forces."

US President Barack Obama speaks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Singapore (File Photo - 15 Nov 2009)

Last July President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, agreed to work on a follow-on treaty to START-1.

"The new treaty that the U.S. and Russia are now negotiating would drop these levels even lower to somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675 deployed strategic warheads and somewhere probably below 800 strategic nuclear delivery systems," continued Kimball.

The two sides were hoping to get a new treaty in place by December 5 - the date of START-1's expiration¹⁴. But now Russian and American officials say they are aiming for the end of the year.

Frank Miller says Washington and Moscow have to bridge several differences.

"There are two sets of issues," said Miller. "One relating to the numbers of warheads and launchers that each side would be allowed under the treaty - there are some differences between the two sides. And the Russian side is objecting to many of the inspection⁷ provisions of the old treaty."

Miller says Moscow wants to have less intrusive¹⁵ verification procedures put into the follow-on START-1 treaty whereas Washington wants stronger measures.

Analysts¹⁶ say whenever the two sides agree on a new treaty, that pact must still be ratified¹⁷ by the U.S. Senate and the Russian parliament - or Duma. And that process, say experts, may take months.

 

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

10 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

11 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

12 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

13 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

15 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

17 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。