VOA标准英语2008年-Bush, Medvedev Agree on Iran, Not Missile Defen

U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev say they are united in trying to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium, but remain divided over American plans for a missile defense¹ system in Eastern Europe. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports from Japan, where the two leaders met on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations.
　
U.S. President George W. Bush (R) shakes hands with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a bilateral² meeting at the G-8 summit in Tokyo, Japan, 07 Jul 2008

This was their first meeting since President Medvedev took office, earlier this year. President Bush says the new Russian leader is a smart guy who is comfortable, confident and says what he means. Although there are fewer than 200 days left in the Bush presidency³, the American leader says he is certain that he and President Medvedev can work together for the common good.

"I reminded him that, yes, I'm leaving, but not until six months, and I am sprinting⁴ to the finish. So we can get a lot done together," said Mr. Bush. "There are a lot of important issues, like Iran. There is an issue where Russia and the United States have worked closely, in the past, and we will continue to work closely to convince the regime to give up its desire to enrich uranium."

The United States and many of its allies believe Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. Iran says it is enriching uranium solely⁵ for the peaceful civilian⁶ purpose of generating electricity.

President Medvedev says the leaders also agreed to continue working together to ensure that North Korea dismantles⁷ its nuclear weapons program. But the Russian leader continues to oppose U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

President Medvedev says he and Mr. Bush have differences over American plans to base a radar⁸ station in the Czech Republic and as many as ten interceptor missiles in Poland. The Bush administration says those missiles are meant to guard against attack from Iran and are no threat to Moscow, because they are no match for the Russian missile arsenal⁹.

President Medvedev says he and Mr. Bush also discussed relations with Georgia. The United States wants the former Soviet¹⁰ republic to join NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Russia is backing separatists in the breakaway Georgian republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

President Medvedev says he will try to intensify¹¹ an already-good dialogue in the remaining months of the Bush Administration and is positive he can build on U.S./Russia relations with the next American leader.

　

 

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 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 sprinting   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步长和步频是短跑最重要的因素。 来自互联网
• Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在学校运动会上夺得了短跑金牌。 来自互联网

5 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

6 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。

7 dismantles   

拆开( dismantle的第三人称单数 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• This toy machine gun dismantles easily. 这种玩具机关枪很容易拆卸。
• By contrast, modern scepticism challenges nobody and dismantles only theories of change. 相反，现代的怀疑主义却并不质疑任何人，仅仅摧毁变革理论。

8 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

9 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

10 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。

11 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。