VOA标准英语2010年-Israel Calls for Significant Sanctions

Israel's Defense¹ Minister Ehud Barak is calling for significant sanctions against Iran, saying it is clear the country wants to be a nuclear weapons power.  Barak made the comments during a visit to Washington.

Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and has refused to rule out a preemptive military strike against the Islamic republic because of its nuclear program.

But Israel also says it favors the U.S. push for sanctions against Iran in an effort to convince the country to agree to international demands to halt its uranium enrichment program.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "It is clear to us and I believe it will become more and more clear to others that Iran tries to defy, deceit and deter² the whole world in regard to its nuclear ambitions," he said.

Barak spoke³ Friday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

He pointed⁴ to recent protests in Iran following disputed presidential elections as proof the grip of the government over the people is weakening.

He predicted the Iranian government is likely to fall, but said such an event could be many years away. "It is clear to me the clock toward the collapse⁵ of the regime works much slower than the clock which ticks toward Iran becoming a nuclear military power," he said.

The Israeli defense minister said the United Nations should impose what he called significant, effective sanctions on Tehran that set a time limit to compel Iran to stop enriching uranium.

He endorsed⁶ U.S. President Barack Obama's efforts to line up members of the U.N. Security Council behind a new set of sanctions. "I feel that the administration is doing its utmost effort to deliver an effective set of sanctions.  We appreciate it and we hope it will be successful," he said.

Barak also meet Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is pursuing a dual-track approach toward Iran. "We remain committed to a diplomatic, peaceful resolution.  But as the recent IAEA report makes clear, Iran is not living up to its responsibilities, and we are working with our partners in the international community to increase pressure on Iran to change course," she said.

Tehran has already faced three rounds of U.N. sanctions for refusing to stop enriching uranium, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors⁷ and fissile material for an atomic bomb.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

 

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 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

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 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。