2007年VOA标准英语-US Aerospace Industry Hopes for Military Sales

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
05 February 2007

India's defense¹ minister says his country is prepared to collaborate² with other nations to build combat aircraft, tactical missiles and other military equipment. The announcement comes as an unprecedented³ range of U.S. firepower is arriving in India for an air show where manufacturers are hoping to attract Indian buyers. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.

Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony pledged on Monday that his government is committed to a partnership⁴ in military aviation with other countries.

Antony pointed⁵ to India's recent nuclear deal with the United States, and its agreement with Russia to access satellite navigation signals, as examples of Indian intentions.

Other Indian officials say New Delhi intends to spend 30 billion dollars acquiring military hardware over the next five years.

That is exciting news for a U.S. delegation⁶ in New Delhi on its way to an air show in Bangalore this week to pitch the products of 52 U.S. defense companies.

 
William Cohen 
The head of the delegation is William Cohen, a former U.S. defense secretary. He says the U.S. defense industry expects the acquisition process to be fair and transparent⁷.

"That's all we can expect, that's what we do expect and we believe as a result of that we feel that we offer the best products at the best price with the best reliability⁸ and therefore feel that we will be very competitive with any other country," he said.

India for decades enjoyed a close friendship with Russia, which previously⁹ supplied nearly three-quarters of India's arms. Moscow now hopes to sell more than 100 fighter planes to New Delhi, including the new MiG-35 jet.

Boeing hopes to shoot down the MiG sales. The U.S. aircraft company says it will jointly¹⁰ produce with India the F-18 Super Hornet if Boeing wins the fighter contract.

 
Thomas Pickering 
A former U.S. ambassador to India, Thomas Pickering, who also is a former Boeing representative, is hopeful.

"This is a particularly opportune¹¹ time for us to be talking with our Indian friends about further partnering as we go ahead and I suspect that in and around the Bangalore Air Show you will see some of this happening," he said.

Defense ties and potential contacts have quickly expanded between the United States and India since last year's agreement for the U.S. to cooperate with Indian's nuclear power industry. The deal requires India to separate its civilian¹² and military nuclear programs and put the civilian facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The United States recently sold an amphibious transport vessel¹³ to the Indian navy for $42 million. That was New Delhi's first major military purchase from the United States since the two countries agreed on a defense framework in 2005.

1 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。

2 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。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

8 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

11 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

12 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。

13 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。