CNN 2010-12-10

A frosty forecast, an out-of-this-world vacation, and an unbelievable finish to a cross-country race. All of it’s coming up this Tuesday on CNN Student News. Hi, everyone. I’m Carl Azuz.

First up, a series of meetings in Switzerland that are happening behind closed doors. The subject: Iran’s controversial nuclear program. That Middle Eastern country is on one side of the table. On the other side are the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany. It’s been more than a year since the last time representatives from these countries got together. Both sides are bringing up some of their concerns. Iran wants to talk about attacks on two Iranian scientists last week. The other nations want to put the brakes on Iran’s nuclear program. They’re worried that Iran might be trying to make nuclear weapons, a concern the international community has had for some time. Iran denies that. It says it’s just making nuclear power. The talks started yesterday.

The day before that, Iran announced that it doesn’t need anyone’s help to produce nuclear fuel. The country says it is producing its own yellow cake. That’s a substance that’s required for nuclear programs, whether they’re peaceful or military. Officials can’t verify that Iran is producing yellow cake, but American authorities said they weren’t surprised by the announcement.

Things are getting more tense on the Korean peninsula, and the U.S. is getting involved in a couple ways. First, Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint¹ Chiefs of Staff, is heading to South Korea. He’s going to reassure² that country’s military that the U.S. supports it. Back in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was offering a similar message when she met with South Korean and Japanese officials yesterday.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court is investigating some alleged³ attacks by North Korea on South Korea. Those include an attack on a South Korean island and the sinking of a South Korean warship⁴. For its part, the North is blaming the South for all the tension in the region.

1 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。

2 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

3 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

4 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。