密歇根新闻广播 关于朝鲜的常识

 

Don Haffner is a witty¹ and smart guy in his late 60s who grew up in Downriver Detroit's working class town of Allen Park. Growing up, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, except not to become one more cog on the assembly line.

So he went to tiny Albion College, until one day in 1972 when he was about to graduate and got a letter asking him if he might want to consider serving in South Korea in the Peace Corps². He did, and it changed his life. South Korea is prosperous now, and the United States hasn't sent Peace Corps volunteers there in 35 years.

But that wasn't the case in the early 70s, less than a generation after the entire country was devastated³ by the Korean War. The experience was, indeed, life-changing. Don, who I've known slightly for years, was sent to a town then called Mukho only about 40 miles from the infamous⁴ 38th parallel, where he taught English in middle school.

After three years in the Peace Corps, he spent additional years in Korea as the country director of the Pearl Buck⁵ Foundation. He's done a lot of things since, and this spring published an entertaining and thoughtful memoir⁶ of his Peace Corps years, called Mukho Memories. That was before the leaders of both our country and North Korea decided⁷ to engage in a series of schoolyard insults and not-so-vague threats about nuclear weapons.

Don lived in South Korea at a time when phrases like "death to Communism" were standard greetings, but I thought he might have some worthwhile observations on the present crisis. "North Korea has always seemed to desire recognition and respect," he told me.

He's paid a lot of attention to it over the years, and he said Pyongyang has responded favorably on those rare occasions when high-ranking officials or famous Americans have visited the country. "Honey catches more flies than vinegar," he said, adding, "We'd be better off right now if we had used more carrots and fewer sticks in the last few decades."

Haffner has a number of advanced degrees, including a Master's in international training, but doesn't claim to be a diplomat⁸. But he does speak Korean and know a fair amount about how Koreans see the world, and believes in their culture, calling names – "little rocket man" – is as or more counter-productive as it would be here.

"Most of us learn that name-calling isn't appropriate in elementary school," he said dryly, reflecting on one famous American who clearly doesn't understand that.

Haffner doesn't exactly expect to be asked for advice by Washington. But if he were, he would say "over the years, our Secretary of State in each administration should have unequivocally stated that the USA has no desire to invade North Korea."

Everyone knows we don't. "It would be far too costly⁹ and very risky¹⁰ behavior. So why not say so?"

Haffner says, "It still leaves all options on the table should North Koreans attack. It really gives up nothing and, in essence, just states the obvious."

So why not start saying so right now?

You might say that the answer, as the cliche¹¹ goes, is above both of our pay grades. Yet it does seem to make a lot of sense.

Jack¹² Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹³. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

5 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

6 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

11 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

12 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

13 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。