2006年VOA标准英语-Venezuela's Chavez Signs Oil Deal With Vietnam

By Matt Steinglass
Hanoi
31 July 2006

Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, right, talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 31, 2006   
  
The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, is in the Vietnamese capital, seeking support in his campaign to counter the United States' global influence and build what he calls a "multi-polar world". But the Vietnamese seem more interested in Chavez's offer to help them build an oil refinery¹. 

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A military band in white with gold braid welcomed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the presidential palace in Hanoi.

Mr. Chavez, known for his defiance² of the United States, is on a world tour of past and present political adversaries³ of the United States, including Belarus, Russia and Iran. He minced⁴ no words on what he felt Venezuela and Vietnam had in common.

Mr. Chavez says both countries had stood up against colonialism and imperialism⁵.

These words have gone out of fashion in Vietnamese diplomacy⁶, however. Vietnam today tends to put commercial interests ahead of ideological⁷ ones. Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet emphasized the two countries' prospects⁸ for economic cooperation.

Mr. Triet says Vietnam and Venezuela could cooperate in many areas of society, economy and culture.

The two countries signed agreements to collaborate⁹ in diplomatic and cultural affairs and, most importantly, in mining and energy.

Both Vietnam and Venezuela are oil exporters. Venezuela is the world's fourth-largest oil producer, while Vietnam earned $7.4 billion from crude oil exports in 2005.

But Vietnam lacks any domestic refining capacity. A decade-long government project to construct a refinery has run into problems with corruption¹⁰, design flaws, and lack of capital.

Mr. Chavez estimated that with a refinery, Vietnam could save billions of dollars a year in gasoline imports.

Mr. Chavez enthusiastically promised to help Vietnam complete the refinery. Details of how he would do so were not released.

For Mr. Chavez, the stakes in Vietnam are more geopolitical than economic. The Venezuelan president is foremost among several leftist Latin American leaders who oppose U.S. foreign policy.

In the presidents' joint¹¹ press conference, Chavez expressed his admiration¹² for Vietnam's late communist leader, Ho Chi Minh. On Tuesday, he plans to visit General Vo Nguyen Giap, the 94-year-old hero of Vietnam's wars against France and the United States.

Mr. Chavez said he wanted Vietnam's help in building a multi-polar world, in other words, one with alternatives to American power.

But Vietnam's President Triet was silent on this point. Vietnam has spent the past 10 years cultivating friendly relations with the United States, which is now its number-one trading partner.

1 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 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。

3 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

4 minced   

v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉）

参考例句：

• He minced over to serve us. 他迈着碎步过来招待我们。
• A young fop minced up to George and introduced himself. 一个花花公子扭扭捏捏地走到乔治面前并作了自我介绍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。