2006年VOA标准英语-Pakistan Reportedly Working to Expand Nuclear W

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
24 July 2006

  
  
Pakistan has refused to comment on news that it is building a powerful new plutonium nuclear reactor¹, which could signal a major overhaul² of the country's nuclear weapons program. A Washington-based research group released this week what it says are satellite photographs of what appears to be a new reactor under construction at a Pakistan nuclear site. 

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The photographs, released on-line (on an Internet web site) Sunday evening, appear to show a large, partially³ completed nuclear reactor inside the Khushab complex in central Pakistan.

According to the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), the heavy water reactor could potentially produce more than 200 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, enough for 40 to 50 nuclear weapons.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Pakistan's foreign ministry⁴ spokeswoman, Tasneem Aslam, would neither confirm nor deny the institute's findings, but downplayed the report's significance.

"I will not comment on the specifics, but Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state, it's a known fact. It is also a known fact that Khushab is hosting nuclear facilities," she said.

The report says construction of the new reactor likely began in early 2000, and could be completed in a few years.

The institute's assessment⁵ also suggests construction has been delayed by possible shortages in key materials, and says Pakistan is apparently⁶ not rushing to finish the project.

The news has raised concern about Pakistan's nuclear program and the possibility a new reactor could trigger an arms race with regional rival, India. Both nations maintain limited nuclear arsenals⁷, and neither has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam dismissed concerns of an arms race, however, stressing Islamabad's commitment to easing cross-border tensions.

"We have repeatedly said we do not want a nuclear or conventional arms race in the region and that remains⁸ our position: we do not want a nuclear arms race," added Aslam.

Aslam said the location of the Kushab nuclear site has already been given to India, under a long-standing agreement with New Delhi meant to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict.

The ISIS report also suggested India is likely aware of the new reactor's construction.

The U.S. Congress is about to debate a Bush administration proposal to share sensitive nuclear technology with India.

India has promised to use that technology only for peaceful purposes, and has agreed to strengthen internal safeguards on its civilian⁹ nuclear reactors¹⁰.

Pakistan, which was not offered a similar deal by the Bush aministration, has sharply criticized the proposal, saying it could destabilize the region's delicate nuclear balance.

Pakistan's nuclear program has been mostly isolated¹¹ internationally since 2004, when the country's top nuclear scientist admitted he illegally sold advanced weapons technology to a number of countries, including Iran and North Korea.

1 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 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。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 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。

10 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。