VOA标准英语2010年-India, Russia Sign Energy, Defense Dea

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following a joint¹ statement to the press in New Delhi, 12 Mar² 2010.

A short visit to India by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has allowed New Delhi and Moscow to strengthen their strategic partnership³, which has had its ups and downs since the end of the Cold War era.

Indian and Russian officials say the two prime ministers held wide-ranging discussions.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says his talks with Mr. Putin went beyond the 22 agreements they signed. "There is much that India and Russia can do together to advance global peace and stability and the process of global economic revival⁴. We've agreed to intensify⁵ our consultations⁶ on Afghanistan and the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism in our region," he said.

But most of the attention focused on the billions of dollars worth of deals they signed.

To help India meet a shortage of electricity for its booming economy, Russia is to build between 12 and 16 nuclear power plants here, six of them by 2017. Russia is already constructing two units in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Earlier in the day, during a video conference with Indian business leaders gathered in several cities, Mr. Putin said Russia would also supply India with fuel for the reactors⁷ and cooperate on disposal of nuclear waste from the new plants. He called Russia's nuclear technology among the safest in the world.

One of the most significant agreements is intended to settle a protracted⁸ dispute over the sale and refurbishing of a Russian aircraft carrier that is to be delivered to India's Navy by the end of 2012. The two countries originally agreed on a price of about $950 million for the Admiral Gorshkov. Now it is believed to be $2.3 billion.

India has also agreed to buy 69 additional fighter jets from Russia.

The Russian prime minister also announced the two countries will work together to develop a fifth-generation combat aircraft. "Until now Russia has worked alone on the project," he said. "But significant progress has been made and the joint effort with India will yield considerable additional results."

Indian officials say the aircraft will be built within the next six years and based on the prototype of the Russian T-50 stealth fighter.

A Russian expert, Professor Anuradha Chenoy of Jawaharlal Nehru University, says India has good reason to continue looking to Russia for critical supplies and enhanced cooperation. "Repeatedly, Russians give India technology and assistance in defense⁹, in space, in nuclear civilian¹⁰ use which you do not get from anywhere else," she said. "And this has been an old pattern and this has been proved once again."

India is one of the world's top weapons importers. And Russia is trying to maintain the dominant¹¹ position it held since the Soviet¹² era as the lead foreign supplier to India's military.
 

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 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。

4 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

5 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。

6 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

8 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 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。