VOA常速英语2007-ElBaradei: There is Time to Solve Iranian Nuke C

By Paula Wolfson
Washington 2-343290
28 October 2007

The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency says there is still plenty of time to resolve the dispute surrounding Iran's nuclear program. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mohamed ElBaradei says diplomacy¹ is the only solution.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran does not currently have the know-how² to make a nuclear weapon. Mohamed ElBaradei says the goal is to prevent them from building one in the future.

"We are not talking about Iran having today a nuclear weapon. We are trying to make sure that the future intention of Iran is peaceful," he said.

During an appearance on CNN's Late Edition program, ElBaradei was asked if there is evidence a secret weapons-development program is underway in Iran.

"What we have seen in the past is certain procurement³ that has not been reported to us. There are experiments. And that is where we are working now with Iran to clarify the past and the present. But I have not received any information that there is a complete active nuclear weapons program going on right now," said ElBaradei.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and is designed to produce nuclear power. But the United States has warned it may be a cover for the production of nuclear weapons, and President Bush has said a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War III.

Speaking on the CBS television news program Face the Nation, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, urged the White House to tone down its words.

"My belief is that we ought to dial down the rhetoric⁴," he said. "We ought to make it clear that there is always a military option if Iran goes nuclear. But we ought to just speak more softly because these hot words that are coming out of the administration, this hot rhetoric plays right into the hands of fanatics⁵ in Iran."

Levin went on to say that he supports the administration's decision to impose unilateral sanctions on Iran. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican on the Armed Services panel, says the president had no choice.

Graham told Face the Nation  that there is little stomach in some countries, such as Russia, for stepped up multi-lateral pressure on Tehran.

"The diplomatic efforts to control Iran need to continue. They need to be more robust⁶, but we are seeing mixed signals," he said. "The U.N. is becoming ineffective when it comes to regulating rogue⁷ regimes and Russia is sending all the wrong signals as far as I am concerned."

He said President Bush has not overstated the threat posed by a nuclear Iran. Graham said the president's actions are justified⁸ because - in his words - time is running out.

1 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。

2 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

3 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

4 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

5 fanatics   

狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heathen temple was torn down by a crowd of religions fanatics. 异教徒的神殿被一群宗教狂热分子拆除了。
• Placing nukes in the hands of baby-faced fanatics? 把核弹交给一些宗教狂热者手里？

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

8 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。