VOA标准英语2014--伊朗核项目在联合国恢复谈判

 

Iran Nuclear Program Talks to Resume at UN 伊朗核项目在联合国恢复谈判

STATE DEPARTMENT—

Iran and and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany are set to resume talks on Iran's nuclear program Thursday in New York -- in a bid to reach an agreement before a November deadline. 

The two sides agreed to extend an original July deadline after negotiators failed to come to terms on a number of key issues, one of the major sticking points for negotiators being Iran's uranium enrichment capacity.

Iran said it needs an industrial-scale enrichment program to produce fuel. But some Western powers suspect Iran wants to make nuclear weapons.

The two sides have held bilateral¹ meetings since the July deadline extension. But they may not make much headway in New York, said Robert Einhorn of the Brookings Institution.

“Unfortunately, I think it is likely that the parties will restate their positions and it will be up to subsequent encounters to narrow the gaps,” Einhorn said.

Cautiously optimistic

Analyst² Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association is cautiously optimistic the July extension has given negotiators time to reconsider their positions.

“I think that we will make progress on some of the difficult issues, like uranium enrichment, but that it will still be a very difficult two months before the November 24 deadline,” Davenport said.

But James Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it is possible both Iran and the U.N. members will wait until the 11th hour before reconsidering their positions.

“If major concessions³ are to be made,” Acton said, “they are only likely to be made right at the last minute when we are right up at the November deadline.”

Acton said if Iran is seen as the fundamental block to an agreement, there could be broad international consensus⁴ to impose more sanctions on the country. 

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？