VOA标准英语2009年-US Considering Multilateral Response if North K

Secretary of State Clinton says parties to the Chinese-sponsored talks on North Korea are prepared to discuss a joint¹ response, including possible U.N. Security Council action, if North Korea goes ahead with a threatened test of a long-range ballistic missile. Clinton discussed the issue Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
　
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 11 Mar² 2009

Clinton was not precise about what the joint response might be to what she says would constitute a very provocative³ act by North Korea.

But she says the other five parties to the Chinese-sponsored talks on North Korea's nuclear program are all outspoken⁴ against the prospective⁵ missile test, and will discuss a possible response if they are not successful in efforts to persuade Pyongyang from going ahead with it.

The official North Korean media have been saying since last month that the reclusive communist state is preparing to test a satellite launch vehicle, a possible repeat of the long-range missile it fired over Japan in 1998 that fueled regional tensions.

In a press appearance after her meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang, Clinton reiterated⁶ the U.S. view that such a test would violate terms of U.N. Security Council resolution 1718 approved after North Korea's 2006 nuclear test.

China has taken a milder stance but Clinton said all participants in the nuclear talks, including China, are concerned about the threatened test.

"Our partners in the Six-Party Talks are concerned about the missile launch. They are willing to address it if it does happen with us in a variety of ways, including the Security Council. But I don't want to talk about hypotheticals. We are still working to try to dissuade⁷ the North Koreans. But it is important to recognize that the North Koreans entered into obligations regarding denuclearization that we intend to try to hold them to. And that is something we're going to do regardless of what happens with what they may or may not launch in the future," she said.

The six-party talks, which include Russia, Japan and South Korea in addition to the United States, China and North Korea, have been stalled for months over North Korea's refusal to accept a verification plan for the declaration of its nuclear holdings it made last June.

Clinton said she and Foreign Minister Yang, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with whom she met last week, all still believe in the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, and want the stalled negotiations⁸ to resume at the earliest possible moment.

She also said the United States would like to find a way to make North Korea's missile activities part of the negotiating process.

Earlier Wednesday, the State Department again rejected North Korean charges that annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises now underway are part of a plan for a preemptive attack on the north.

Acting⁹ State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said the charges are baseless and frankly¹⁰ nonsense, and said the bellicose¹¹ rhetoric¹² coming out of North Korea is not helpful.

1 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。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

4 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

5 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

7 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

8 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。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 bellicose   

adj.好战的；好争吵的

参考例句：

• He expressed alarm about the government's increasingly bellicose statements.他对政府越来越具挑衅性的声明表示担忧。
• Some irresponsible politicians made a bellicose remarks.一些不负责任的政客说出一些好战的话语。

12 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。