Turkey, Iran aim to boost trade, political ties

    TEHRAN, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Iran aim to boost trade and political ties, the two countries' leaders said Monday during Turkish President Abdullah Gul's visit to Iran.
    Accompanied by(连同) a large delegation¹ of ministers and businessmen, Gul arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a four-day visit and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
    Turkey and Iran should take steps to enhance trade and preferential（特惠贸易） trade agreement must be finalized² as soon as possible, Gul told a joint³ press conference with Ahmadinejad.
    Turkey is seeking to triple the trade volume with Iran despite UN and U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran over its disputed nuclear activity.
    Ahmadinejad said trade volume between the two states surpassed 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.
    "We are determined⁴ to boost that figure to as high as 30 billion U.S. dollars. We have both the potential and the political will to that end," he told reporters.
    Ankara has developed closer relations with its eastern neighbor since the ruling Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002. Turkey was one of the first governments congratulating Ahmadinejad on his re-election in 2009, which was criticized by Iran's opposition⁵ over alleged⁶ vote fraud.
    Turkey and Iran saw bilateral⁷ trade volume surge from 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 to 10.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2010. Iran is the second biggest gas supplier of Turkey and the two countries are cooperating in energy field.
    Turkey's improving bilateral relations with Iran have sparked concerns in the West, which suspects Iran is trying to make nuclear bombs with its nuclear program and fears Turkey, a long term NATO ally with a predominantly Muslim population, is sliding away from the West.
    A non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Turkey cast a no vote for further sanctions against Iran in June 2010. Ankara argues Iran has the right to keep peaceful nuclear program and that a nuclear swap⁸ deal brokered⁹ by Turkey and Brazil with Iran in May 2010 should be on the table, instead of sanctions.
    In an interview carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA on Saturday, Gul said Turkey backs a negotiated settlement of Tehran' s nuclear program.
    "Iran is signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Therefore, Iran's nuclear issue should be solved through negotiation¹⁰ and Turkey will continue to facilitate（促进,帮助） this," he said.
    Turkey hosted talks in January between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's controversial nuclear ambition, but no progress was achieved.
    "Hosting such meetings and negotiations¹¹ shows Turkey's independent and civilized¹² status in the international arena¹³ and power balance," Ahmadinejad said at the press conference.
    He thanked Gul for Turkey's support for Tehran's right "to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes."Speaking of the developments in Middle East, Gul called on Middle Eastern governments to listen to the demands of their people.
    "We see that sometimes when the leaders and heads of countries do not pay attention to their nations' demands, the people themselves take action to achieve their demands," Gul told the press conference.
    He said the Middle East is witnessing major changes and that he hoped the transformation¹⁴ process would have an honorable and happy ending for all the nations living in the region.
    Gul's visit on Monday coincided with a protest at a Tehran square in support of demonstrations¹⁶ in Egypt and Tunisia, called by the opposition leaders Mir-Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
    The protest later turned into an anti-government demonstration¹⁵ and Iranian security forces fired tear gas to disperse¹⁷ the protesters.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

2 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 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。

8 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

9 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

10 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

11 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。

12 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

13 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

14 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

15 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

16 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

17 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。