2006年VOA标准英语-South Korea's Career Diplomat Set to Be Next UN

By Peter Heinlein
New York
03 October 2006 

		Ban Ki-Moon

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon is on track to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations. A formal vote of the Security Council is set October 9. VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein profiles the man who is set to become the world's next diplomat¹-in-chief.

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Sixty two-year-old Ban Ki-Moon is the quintessential career diplomat. He joined South Korea's foreign service in 1970, after graduating from Seoul's prestigious² National University and earning a Masters degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

He rose through the foreign ministry³ ranks, serving several stints⁴ in and around the United Nations during his 36-year career. Before taking the ministry's top job in January 2004, he served as chief aide to the president of the U.N. General Assembly.

Ban announced his candidacy for the secretary-general's job last February. Diplomats⁵ say he ran a smooth and efficient campaign, portraying⁶ himself as a quiet but effective administrator⁷. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly last month, he gave a preview of his vision for the world body.

"The United Nations was created first and foremost to forestall⁸ another world war. Not only has it achieved this cardinal⁹ goal despite four decades of Cold War, but it has also offered states multiple means of resolving their differences short of war," said Ban. "However, we cannot be sanguine¹⁰ about future trends. If the U.N.'s primary task in the 20th century was to curb¹¹ interstate conflict, its core mandate¹² in the new century must be to strengthen states and to preserve the interstate system in the face of new challenges."

Ban's friends and associates say his soft-spoken style is sometimes mistaken for a lack of charisma¹³. But they say he can be a commanding presence. Jong sik Kong is the New York correspondent for South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo (East Asia) daily newspaper. He says the low-key appearance was part of Ban's campaign strategy.

"That was his strategy, including many South Korean diplomats, including Mr. Ban Ki-Moon himself kept emphasizing that," noted¹⁴ Jong. "They were keeping low key. I asked why they chose that strategy, their answer was like this, 'If they analyze¹⁵ the voting process, many candidates who are more high-profile usually fail, so that's why they chose the track of 'low key'".

Other veteran U.N. watchers say Ban is likely to focus more on managing the world body's vast bureaucracy than his predecessor¹⁶, Kofi Annan. U.S. officials have made clear they want the next secretary-general to be more of an administrator. Suzanne Di Maggio, vice-president of the U.N. Association of the United States, says Ban campaigned on a "better management' platform.

"I think his intention is to make it a little different. He has stated publicly that he would like to appoint a deputy secretary-general who has the mandate and the authority to run day-to-day operations of the organization," she said. "So by virtue¹⁷ of that fact, it would be quite a different organization. "

U.S. diplomats hailed Ban's impending¹⁸ selection. Washington's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton noted that he had worked with the Korean diplomat a decade ago on the plan that eventually led to U.N. membership for both North and South Korea.

Critics have suggested that Ban's closeness to Washington might be seen as a handicap at the United Nations, given the world body's rocky relationship with Washington. The U.N. Association's Suzanne Di Maggio says Ban's relationship with Washington can be both a blessing¹⁹ and a curse.

"Certainly I think when he tries to call Washington, whether it's Secretary Rice or someone else, they will definitely pick up the phone," continued Di Maggio. "On the other hand, there are number of issues that are priorities on U.N agenda, that it may work to his disadvantage to be closely allied²⁰ to the United States, I'm thinking of issues such as Iran nuclear program. In a case like that, it would be a disadvantage for someone like Mr. Ban."

In a recent interview, Ban himself rejected suggestions that his past association with America would hurt him. He told reporters, "that's an asset, not a liability".

1 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。

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 stints   

n.定额工作( stint的名词复数 )；定量；限额；慷慨地做某事

参考例句：

• He stints himself in [of] sleep. 他节制睡眠。 来自辞典例句
• She never stints herself of money to buy books for her children. 她从不吝惜掏钱让子女们买书。 来自互联网

5 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》

6 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 forestall   

vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止

参考例句：

• I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
• He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。

9 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

10 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

11 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。

12 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

13 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

14 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。

15 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

16 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

17 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

18 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

19 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

20 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。