2006年VOA标准英语-Europeans to Call Emergency IAEA Meeting o

By Michael Drudge¹
London
16 January 2006
 
The major European powers are calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency early next month on Iran.

The British Foreign Office says the meeting is being called for February 2 and 3 of the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The objective is for the IAEA to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council.  The Council, in turn, could impose sanctions on Iran for restarting its nuclear program at a uranium enrichment facility.

The British statement comes after a close-door meeting in London of senior officials from Britain, France and Germany, along with their counterparts from the United States, Russia and China.

All the countries hold permanent seats on the Security Council, except for Germany.

 
Jack² Straw (file photo) 
  
The European countries still hold out hope for a diplomatic settlement with Iran after last week declaring negotiations³ had hit a dead end.  British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says the Security Council does not necessarily have to impose sanctions.

"There are plenty of examples where a matter is referred to the Security Council, and the Security Council takes action, and that action is followed without the need for decisions on sanctions," he said.

Diplomats⁴ say the main focus of Monday's meeting in London was to convince Russia and China of the need to ratchet up pressure on Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country is moving closer to the Western position on Iran.  China, which buys a considerable amount of Iranian oil, is urging restraint and more negotiations with Tehran.

Iran says it wants nuclear power for peaceful, civilian⁵ purposes. But the United States and the major European Union powers suspect Iran intends to build nuclear weapons.

International concern also has risen since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently said Israel should be, in his words, "wiped off the map."

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 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。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。