VOA标准英语2011-Nuclear Talks with Iran Collapse

Talks in Istanbul, Turkey between the international community and Iran over its controversial nuclear program, have ended in failure amid mutual¹ recriminations. The collapse² in the talks, is expected to lead to further international pressure on Iran over its nuclear aspirations³.

The European Union policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed frustration⁴ over the failure of the two days of talks, but said Iran was to blame.

"We had hoped to embark⁵ on a discussion of practical ways forward, and have made every effort to make that happen. I am disappointed to say that this has not been possible," she said.

Ashton led a delegation⁶ of countries that is known as the P5+1, United States, Britain, Russia , France China, and Germany in negotiations⁷ with Iran over its controversial nuclear energy program. It is suspected of using the program to build an atomic bomb, a charge Tehran denies.

The Istanbul meeting follows talks in Geneva. Ashton said the Geneva talks had agreed that the Istanbul meeting would focus on detailed⁸ proposals. The two days of talks centered on what is described as confidence building measures which included a deal that Iran would exchange some of its low enriched uranium in exchange for nuclear fuel for Tehran's Research Reactor⁹. Similar agreements had been attempted both in 2009 and 2010 .

But Ashton said Iran had insisted on unacceptable preconditions such as a lifting of United Nations sanctions.

"We had hoped to have a detailed and constructive¹⁰ discussion of those ideas. But it became clear that the Iranian side was not ready for this, unless we agreed to preconditions relating to enrichment and sanctions. Both these preconditions are not the way to proceed," said the EU policy chief.

But the head of the Iranian negotiations - Saeed Jalili - said they approached the Istanbul meeting with good will and wanted a logical approach to the talks, saying their demands weren't unreasonable¹¹.

He said, "We must respect international rights and I talked about the rights of people", "these are not preconditions , there are prerequisites¹²."

No date has been set for new talks. but Ashton said it's up to Tehran to change its stance, saying their offer remains¹³ on the table. Observers say the collapse in talks is expected to lead to new calls for further international action against Iran. But a senior European official at the talks said it was important to be calm and take a wait and see approach.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 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。

3 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。

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

6 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。

7 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。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

10 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

11 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

12 prerequisites   

先决条件，前提( prerequisite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Good muscles are one of the prerequisites of physical fitness. 肌肉发达是身体健康的一个必备条件。
• One of the outstanding prerequisites of any city is a local transportation system. 本地运输系统是任何城市的突出前提条件之一。

13 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。