VOA标准英语2010年-Nuclear Issues Expected to Top Brazili

Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (r) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Brazil (2009 photo)

Iran's nuclear program is expected to be the focus of a trip to Tehran by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Saturday's scheduled visit follows last year's trip to Brazil by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - the first-ever by an Iranian leader. The two countries would seem to have little in common, other than presidents who share an aversion to U.S. clout¹ in world affairs.

In what some observers see as a high-risk, high-reward gamble, President Lula hopes to succeed where the international community has failed: ending Tehran's nuclear stand-off with the UN's nuclear body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"It is not wise to push Iran into a corner," said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "It is wise to establish negotiations³. I have said publicly that I want the same for Iran that I want for Brazil - to use the development of nuclear energy for peaceful ends."

By engaging Iran, the left-of-center, secular⁴ democrat⁵ is pairing himself with the leader of an autocratic theocracy⁶. Despite enormous ideological⁷ differences, Presidents Lula and Ahmadinejad share a disdain⁸ for the preeminence⁹ of major industrialized nations in world affairs, particularly at the United Nations.  President Ahmadinejad puts it this way:

"The [U.N.] Security Council needs fundamental change," said  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "For 60 years, the Security Council has failed to establish global security, and the reason is mainly because of veto power, which gives certain nations a monopoly on power."

Brazil has rebuffed U.S. efforts to tighten¹⁰ sanctions on Iran. Nearing the end of his term, President Lula is aiming for a crowning achievement that will cement his legacy¹¹ and solidify¹² Brazil's image as a rising world power, according to Paulo Sotero, who directs the Brazilian Institute at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center.

"He believes that Brazil can contribute to resolving - by negotiation², in peace - the most difficult issue in the international agenda right now," said Paulo Sotero. "I think President Lula would get recognition [if successful], and Brazil, which has risen in the international arena¹³ as a reasonably important player, would be recognized even more as a player."

 

Convincing Iran to work in good faith with the IAEA would also bolster¹⁴ arguments that rising nations like Brazil should enjoy equal footing at the U.N. Security Council, a post-World War II creation whose power structure is outdated¹⁵ in the eyes of many nations. But President Lula's gambit has major risks, according to Sotero.

"The alternative scenario¹⁶ is that Ahmadinejad and the Iranian regime will just use President Lula's visit to show that they are not isolated¹⁷ internationally," he said. "Instead of Brazil becoming more relevant, Brazil will diminish itself, and President Lula could also suffer in terms of his image."

Civil rights activists¹⁸ protested Mr. Ahmadinejad's trip to Brazil last year, and blasted Mr. Lula for welcoming the Iranian leader. But Alex Vatanka, a Middle East analyst¹⁹ for Jane's Information Group, sees little political risk for President Lula by engaging Iran.

"President Lula has set the bar pretty low, to be honest," said Alex Vatanka. "He has basically come out and said, 'The Iranians have to say to us that they are not going to pursue the weapons option when it comes to their nuclear program.' Well, the Iranians have been saying this all along. So if you measure in that context, we can already assume that it will be a successful trip. But if we change the question and ask if President Lula go to Tehran and make the Iranians realize that they have to cease [uranium] enrichment today, well, that is not going to happen."

Even so, Vatanka says Mr. Lula's outreach to Iran could prove useful if done in concert with other nations.

"Having other people from Moscow, Beijing, go to Tehran and convince them that this is not just a fight between the U.S. and Iran, that there serious international concerns overall - that might just change more minds in Tehran and, collectively, at the end of the process they might decide that they have to give in," he said.

U.S. officials say they welcome Brazil's engagement with Iran to the extent that President Lula insists on Tehran's full compliance²⁰ with the IAEA.
 

1 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

2 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

3 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。

4 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 theocracy   

n.神权政治；僧侣政治

参考例句：

• Shangzhou was an important period for the formation and development of theocracy.商周时期是神权政治形成与发展的重要阶段。
• The Muslim brothers look as if they will opt for civil society rather than theocracy.穆斯林兄弟看起来好像更适合文明的社会，而非神权统治。

7 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

8 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

9 preeminence   

n.卓越,杰出

参考例句：

• No one doubted the preeminence of my father in financial matters.我父亲在财务方面的杰出才能是不容置疑的。
• Japan had no such confidence in its cultural preeminence or diplomatic skill.日本对本国文化的卓越程度和自己的外交手腕都缺乏这种信心。

10 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

12 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

13 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

14 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

15 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

16 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

17 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

18 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

20 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。