2006年VOA标准英语-Iran Nuclear Moves Seen as Calculated Acti

By Gary Thomas
Washington
11 January 2006

Iran has incurred¹ international displeasure for its decision to resume work on its controversial uranium enrichment program. British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the matter is likely to be taken to the U.N. Security Council, a move long pushed by the United States.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  
  

Several countries, including the United States and Russia, have expressed dismay over Iran's decision to break the seals at a nuclear research facility and resume work on its uranium enrichment program. But Iran remains² undeterred. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Iran will continue seeking what he termed peaceful nuclear energy, and reiterated³ that Iran does not seek to build nuclear weapons.

Analysts⁵ believe that there is in fact a deliberate strategy behind Iran's defiance⁶ of world sentiment on its nuclear program. Kenneth Katzman, an Iran analyst⁴ at the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, says each step Iran takes is designed to gauge⁷ world reaction and see just how far it can go.

"I think that they're pursuing what I call a stepwise approach," he said. "They take a step, see what the reaction is. If they don't get sanctioned or they don't get very seriously punished, then they declare the issue closed and move on up the ladder, up the staircase, so to speak."

In the belief that Iran's ultimate goal is a nuclear weapon, the United States has been trying to line up world support to bring the matter before the U.N. Security Council and possibly impose sanctions on Iran.

Gary Sick, a former staffer on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford⁸, Carter, and Reagan, says the threat of sanctions does not amount to much because there would be no consensus⁹ among council members for strong action - and Iran, he says, knows it.

"If you tried to put sanctions on Iran's production and sale of oil, you would raise the price of oil," he said. "Even assuming you could do that, you would take X-number of barrels of oil off the world market and the price would skyrocket. And so it's difficult to see what would be done to Iran other than a sort of generally worded slap on the wrist sort of thing. And then once you've done that, what have you got left? After that, you have military options, and they certainly aren't attractive for the United States or anybody else."

Sick, now teaching international relations at Columbia University, believes there will eventually be a negotiated settlement between the West and Iran on the issue that acknowledges Iran's right to nuclear energy, but under very strict international controls. However, he says tensions are likely to continue for some time.

"But I do think the tensions are going to be very, very high for a period of time, and there is certainly going to be a growing danger of miscalculation, either on the part of Iran, which is pushing the envelope probably further than they should, and with the other countries, who feel that they have to react to that," he said.

But analysts add that there appears to be internal displeasure that recent statements by hardline President Ahmadinejad are hardening international sentiment against Iran. The new president, who was elected in June, has called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust¹⁰ ever occurred.

The Congressional Research Service's Kenneth Katzman says senior Iranian leaders fear the president's statements are undercutting Iran's one-step-at-a-time nuclear strategy.

"I think the Iranian top leadership believes these type of statements are injuring what was a fairly successful strategy of pursuing a nuclear program without really paying much of a penalty," he added. "But now these statements have made it much easier for the U.S. to persuade other nations to try to restrain Iran's nuclear programs."

Gary Sick agrees, saying there are behind-the-scenes efforts to rein¹¹ President Ahmadinejad in.

"I think there's no question whatsoever¹² that internally, without a lot of fanfare¹³, the leadership of Iran is letting Ahmadinejad know in no uncertain terms that this is very dangerous and it's very harmful to Iran," he said.

Sick points out that President Ahmadinejad was effectively undercut when Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a political rival who lost the presidential race to Ahmadinejad, was appointed head of the Expediency¹⁴ Council, which mediates¹⁵ between the elected parliament and Iran's unelected Islamic clerical leadership. And, Sick notes, President Ahmadinejad has had great difficulty in getting some of his cabinet appointments ratified¹⁶ by the Majlis, or parliament.

1 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 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。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

7 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 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？

10 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

11 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

12 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

13 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

14 expediency   

n.适宜；方便；合算；利己

参考例句：

• The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句

15 mediates   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的第三人称单数 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• We therefore investigated whether hypercoagulability mediates a beneficial effect during denovo atherogenesis. 因此我们研究了高凝在原位动脉粥样硬化形成中是否介导了有益的作用。
• Not happy when the mood that how mediates oneself? 不开心的时候怎样调解自己的情绪？

16 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。