VOA标准英语2010-Obama Prepares to Open Nuclear Summit, Me

Dan Robinson | White House 11 April 2010
 

President Barack Obama walks to Blair House for a series of one-on-one meetings with some of the leaders attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Sunday, April 11, 2010, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

President Barack Obama on Monday will open an unprecedented¹ summit of 47 nations focused on global action to secure nuclear materials and keep them out of the hands of terrorists.  On Sunday, the president held the first of more than 10 bilateral² meetings with foreign leaders coinciding with the summit, amid tight security here in Washington for the event.  

On a cool but sunny spring day, the president walked the short distance from the White House across Pennsylvania Avenue to the official presidential guest residence, Blair House, for the first of at least 10 bilateral meetings he is expected to hold with heads of state and government.

On Sunday, that included the prime ministers of South Asia nuclear rivals India and Pakistan -- Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani -- along with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, whose country voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons after the collapse⁴ of the Soviet⁵ Union.

President Obama's meetings also included two African leaders -- President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and what the White House called a courtesy visit from Acting⁶ Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Additional meetings are set for Monday at the summit venue³ -- the Washington Convention Center -- and will include China's President Hu Jintao, President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia, King Abdullah of Jordan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Najib Razak.

During the summit, which formally begins late Monday and lasts through Tuesday, other leaders and delegation⁷ members will be hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other U.S. officials.

President Obama will chair two key plenary sessions of the Nuclear Security Summit, focusing on how governments plan to respond to threats from unsecured nuclear materials and steps they are prepared to take to ensure their safety.

In a statement to reporters on Sunday as he met with the South African president, President Obama said the summit's focus is the single biggest threat to U.S. security in the short, medium and long term -- the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon. "We know that organizations like al-Qaida are in the process of trying to secure a nuclear weapon or other weapons of mass destruction, and [they] would have no compunction at using them," he said.

The detonation⁸ of an atomic weapon in New York City, London or Johannesburg, said the president, would change the security landscape of the United States and the world for years to come with devastating⁹ economic, political and security ramifications¹⁰. 

Noting that South Africa once had a nuclear weapons program, President Obama said it decided¹¹ that this was not the right path, adding that he hopes South Africa can be a guide for other countries to pursue nuclear non-proliferation. 

The White House says the final communique? to be issued on Tuesday by the 47 nations attending the Nuclear Security Summit will formally recognize the serious threat posed by nuclear terrorism, endorse¹² efforts to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials over a four year period and speak about what countries will do on the national and international level.

The summit is the third major event in two weeks dealing¹³ with nuclear security, including the recent signing in Prague by President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev of a new strategic arms reduction treaty, and the unveiling of the Obama administration's Nuclear Posture¹⁴ Review.

As Mr. Obama prepares for two days of intense consultations¹⁵ with summit participants on reducing the threat from loose nuclear materials and potential nuclear terrorism, he says he feels good with what he calls the degree of commitment and sense of urgency he has seen so far from world leaders, and that he believes enormous progress can come from the gathering¹⁶.
 

1 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。

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 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

15 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》

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。