2006年VOA标准英语-US Lawmakers Urge Greater Efforts to Curb

By Deborah Tate
Washington
09 February 2006

In Washington, key lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at boosting U.S. efforts to curb¹ the threat posed by conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles. But the proposal is getting only a tepid² response from the Bush administration, which argues that efforts to eradicate³ weapons of mass destruction are a higher priority.

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Joseph Biden (file photo) 
  

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, the panel's top Democrat⁴, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, underscored the threat posed by shoulder-fired missiles, tactical missiles and other small arms and light weapons.

"These weapons are not weapons of mass destruction, but they cause more deaths and destruction year in and year out around the globe than all the world's strategic weapons," he said. "From Colombia and the Andes to central Africa and South Asia, an automatic weapon in the hand of a criminal, the explosives and missiles in the hand of a terrorist pose a tremendous threat to U.S. personnel and interests as well as friendly governments and societies."

The committee's chairman, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, is proposing legislation to step up U.S. efforts to curb the threat posed by such weapons.
 

Richard Lugar (file photo)   
  
In 1991, Lugar and the former Senator Sam Nunn established a program to help states of the former Soviet⁵ Union control and protect their nuclear weapons, weapons-usable materials and delivery systems. Under Lugar's current proposal, conventional weapons would be added to the program.

But the Bush administration is reacting coolly to the plan.

Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, Robert Joseph, said the United States has been making progress in conventional weapons eradication⁶, saying the State Department, with help from the Defense⁷ Department, has destroyed or disabled some 17,000 shoulder-fired missiles and other light weapons so far. He said President Bush has requested $8.6 million in next year's budget to continue the effort.

Joseph dismissed lawmakers' appeals that money be shifted from other accounts to pay for an expanded effort to crack down on conventional arms, saying that combating weapons of mass destruction is a higher priority.

"Sure we could spend additional money. But it is important that that money not be taken out of other accounts that reflect other priorities," he said.

Chairman Lugar said the administration should be spending more on the threat posed by conventional weapons.

1 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。

2 tepid   

adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的

参考例句：

• She bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.她把嘴伸到水龙头底下去喝那微温的水。
• Her feet firmly planted on the tepid rough brick of the floor.她一双脚稳固地立在微温而粗糙的砖地上。

3 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。