VOA标准英语2010年-Turkey Expands Influence Abroad

Turkey's bid to enter the European Union remains¹ uncertain despite the start of key meetings with EU officials in Istanbul earlier this month. But, Turkey's uncertain future as a bona fide European power is not stopping Ankara from flexing² its political muscle in the region.

The scene in Istanbul was warm and cordial. Two high-ranking European Union officials met with Turkey's Foreign Minister for key talks on Ankara's bid to join the European bloc³.
But under the surface, relations between Turkey and its traditional partners in the EU and beyond have been strained.

Ankara is frustrated⁴ by a perceived rebuff of its EU aspirations⁵; Turkey's vote last May against further UN sanctions on Iran has disappointed the United States.

More recently, Ankara demanded an apology from its decades-old ally, Israel, over the attack on an aid flotilla last month which killed eight Turkish nationals and one US-born Turkish-American.

But this Muslim nation that straddles the East and the West is not letting recent events stop it from flexing its political muscle beyond Europe's borders. The government of President Abdullah Gu?l and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been systematically⁶ mending Turkey's once-frayed political relations all across the Middle East - with countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria.

It has been acting⁸ as a mediator⁹ to bridge regional conflicts as well -- in what analysts¹⁰ have dubbed¹¹ the "Mid⁷ East Cold War".

Today, with the sixth largest economy in Europe and a growing geopolitical influence, Turkey is fast becoming a soft world power. Last month, a delegation¹² of top Turkish diplomats¹³ made the rounds in Washington to essentially¹⁴ remind their American counterparts of just that point.

"Turkey now is for the first time acting with the psychology¹⁵, with an understanding, with a confidence that reflects the realities of the post Cold War era," said AKP party member Dr. Suat Kiniklioglu. "We believe - and some of you might call us nai?ve -- that what France and Germany succeeded to do in Western Europe, that we can facilitate a geographic¹⁶ space in the Middle East, in the Caucasus, in the Black Sea and the Balkans, where the free movement of people, ideas, goods is possible."

The Turkish Ambassador to the United States said the Washington trip was also aimed at the "reeducation" of American lawmakers on Turkey's changing foreign policy stance.

Critics of this newly-emboldened Turkey say the country is turning away from the West - Europe in particular - and is looking eastward¹⁷ in search of political partnerships¹⁸ with neighbors like Iran and Syria - alliances which Western powers find unsettling.

But Ibrahim Kalin, chief advisor¹⁹ to the Turkish Prime Minister, says Turkey is simply applying the European "good neighbor" policy to its own region. He says Ankara is diversifying²⁰ its foreign policy to help ensure peace and stability in the Middle East. In Turkish political circles, it's called the "zero-problem with neighbors policy".

"We don't see any contradiction in terms of values there. When our European and American allies make similar attempts to improve relations with their own difficult actors like Russia or China, this is hailed as a major contribution of world peace. Some people still have a hard time reconciling with the fact that other nations of the world deserve equal respect from us. And this is what we try to do in our foreign policy in our part of the world," he said.

Turkey can afford to appear confident.  Its economy is now the 16th largest in the world with a Gross Domestic Product of nearly $750 billion.

What's more, Turkey gives nearly $500 million in foreign aid to more than 30 nations, helping²¹ it wield²² further global influence.

Ibrahim Kalin insists Ankara's new geopolitical paradigm²³ simply reflects the changing realities of the 21st Century. "We still need to overcome the problem of Euro-centrism in world politics. The idea that the march of history somehow began in Europe and still continues in Europe, with some little parenthesis²⁴ in between such as the Islamic world, such as China, such as the Ottomans. That needs to be overcome," he said.

In this new world order, developing nations like China, India and Brazil enjoy greater political and economic power - while traditional global powers seem to lose some of their influence on the world stage.
 

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 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

7 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

8 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。

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

16 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

18 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

19 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

20 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

22 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

23 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

24 parenthesis   

n.圆括号，插入语，插曲，间歇，停歇

参考例句：

• There is no space between the function name and the parenthesis.函数名与括号之间没有空格。
• In this expression,we do not need a multiplication sign or parenthesis.这个表达式中，我们不需要乘号或括号。