US Calls Arctic Council Meeting 'Historic'

     U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to join fellow foreign ministers from the eight-nation Arctic Council on Thursday in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, for a meeting on polar region issues, including the receding¹ Arctic ice cap.  The meeting follows the release of a council report that Arctic warming and the resulting rise in sea levels might be much greater than previous forecasts.

    It will be the seventh ministerial-level meeting of the Arctic Council, made up of the countries surrounding the Arctic Ocean.

    But Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg says the Greenland session will be historic(历史意义的), in that the grouping will create a permanent secretariat, and sign its first legally-binding common agreement, on Arctic search and rescue operations.

    At a preview seminar at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, Steinberg said the Greenland meeting will strengthen the Arctic Council's role as the preeminent² world body for Arctic affairs and underline cooperation on regional environmental and maritime³ issues.

    "In the broadest terms, we want to send a strong message that in the post-Cold War world, the Arctic is a region of cooperation, not conflict," said Steinberg.  "And by working together to ensure the safety of human life in a newly-emerging region of human activity, we can show in particular that Russia and the United States are key actors in helping⁴ to propel cooperation on important issues."In addition to the United States and Russia, the Arctic Council includes Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which is in the grouping because of its administration of Greenland.

    Indigenous communities from around the Arctic region are also represented.  Countries not bordering the Arctic Ocean, but with interests in the region, have criticized the notion of a permanent structure for the Arctic Council.

    The State Department's James Steinberg said another key objective of this week's meeting will be to agree on criteria⁵ for observer status for other interested countries and organizations.

    The deputy secretary said data suggest that the Arctic region is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world, and that council members will discuss new steps to curb⁶ emissions⁷ of black carbon, methane⁸ and other gases linked to climate change.

    A study conducted under Arctic Council auspices(征兆) and released last week in Copenhagen said Arctic warming and resultant melting of polar ice could raise sea levels by as much as 1.6 meters by 2100, almost three times more than forecast in a landmark⁹ United Nations study five years ago.

    Charles Ebinger, an Arctic expert at Washington's Brookings Institution, says the world has not yet come to grips with the enormity of problems that would be posed by such change.

    "When you starting talking about sea levels rising nine-and-a-half feet, I think the number was, by 2100, that's a staggering rise in the sea levels and would have potential catastrophic implications for certainly New York, Boston and Washington perhaps.  And I just don't think it's in peoples' mindset," noted¹⁰ Ebinger.

    Ebinger said he hopes the Arctic Council agrees on a transparent¹¹ observer mechanism¹² that opens its deliberations to other countries with interests in the region, including China and South Korea.

    Steinberg said Arctic and climate issues figured in Secretary of State Clinton's meetings with senior Chinese officials on Monday at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

    Clinton, who will be the first U.S. secretary of state to attend an Arctic Council meeting, will lead a team including Secretary of the Interior Ken¹³ Salazar.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected to attend.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

2 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

6 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

7 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

8 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

9 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

13 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.