VOA标准英语2008年-US Remains Open to Dialogue With Moscow on Miss

The Bush administration said Monday it remains¹ open to dialogue with Moscow on U.S. European missile-defense² plans despite Russia's angry response to the signing of a U.S.-Polish agreement on the issue last week. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Rood lamented³ Russia's threat to target Poland with nuclear weapons. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski shake hands after signing missile deal, 20 Aug 2008

The U.S. Russian-relationship has chilled noticeably over Russian intervention⁴ in Georgia and Moscow's bitter reaction to the U.S. missile defense deal with Poland.

But Undersecretary Rood says he see no indication Russia intends to pull back from nuclear arms control agreements with the United States, and says Washington will keep trying to assuage⁵ Russian concerns about the missile defense program.

Rood was a key figure in negotiations⁶ with Poland on the agreement signed last week in Warsaw, under which U.S. interceptor missiles will be based in Poland as part of a regional defense system aimed against a potential attack from Iran or another rogue⁷ state.

In his first talk with Washington reporters since last Wednesday's signing, Rood said the United States remains open to transparency arrangements including Russian site visits to ease Moscow's stated concern the system undercuts its strategic deterrence⁸.

But Rood, noting that Poland would have to approve Russian inspections⁹ on its soil, termed Moscow's threats to Poland last week "disappointing," and added they only complicate¹⁰ the process.

"Some of the statements from Russian officials such as threatening to target Poland with nuclear weapons and things of that nature have certainly made this a much more difficult issue to deal with," he said. "As I mentioned, the host governments retain the sovereignty and the legal right to decide who visits their territory. Threatening to target them with nuclear weapons is not something that's generally viewed positively¹¹, to say the least."

The U.S. plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles to be based in Poland, linked with an advanced radar¹² system to be placed in the Czech Republic.

Rood said there can be no lack of understanding in Moscow that Russia's acknowledged arsenal¹³ of some 850 strategic missiles, many with multiple warheads, is not jeopardized¹⁴ in any way by the pending¹⁵ installation in Poland.

"The Russian government understands the limited capabilities¹⁶ of this system," he said. "We have had unprecedented¹⁷ discussions that have explained the technical capabilities of the system. I think, on the face of it, they understand [that] 10 interceptors in Poland would have no impact on the Russian strategic offensive forces. They know the capabilities of this system and they know it does not pose a threat to Russia."

Rood said he could not be precise at this point about the number of U.S. service personnel required to operate the missile defense system in Poland, but that it would be in excess of 100.

He said additional U.S. troops would run the Patriot¹⁸ air-defense missile battery committed to Poland as part of the companion U.S.-Polish strategic cooperation accord signed last week.

1 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。

2 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。

3 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 assuage   

v.缓和，减轻，镇定

参考例句：

• The medicine is used to assuage pain.这种药用来止痛。
• Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.你带来的这些振奋人心的消息一定能减轻她的痛苦。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

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 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

9 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

11 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

12 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。

13 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。

14 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

15 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

16 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 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。

18 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。