VOA标准英语2011--Analysts Say Egypt Must Remain Free of N

In this report from Washington, Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at Egypt's nuclear program and its stance on chemical weapons. With Egypt's political future still in limbo¹, analysts³ question whether Cairo's policy of not seeking nuclear weapons will remain in place.
Egypt's Nuclear Legacy⁴
Egypt has two nuclear research reactors⁵ located at Inshas, near Cairo. They are used for peaceful purposes, such as medical research and nuclear engineering experiments.
But analysts agree that Egypt sought to acquire a nuclear weapons capability⁶ back in the 1960s. Former Defense⁷ Department official James Russell, who is now with the Naval⁸ Postgraduate⁹ School in Monterey, California says interest in building a nuclear capability or developing an indigenous¹⁰ peaceful nuclear program ended during the presidency¹¹ of Gamal Abdel Nasser.
"Nasser realized the deep financial costs that are going to be required and he also realized the political costs that would accrue¹² from an Egypt developing a nuclear program," said Russell. "And so all these projects were canceled after the [Six Day] 1967 war. And then in 1968, Egypt signs the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty [NPT]. And since then the Sadat government ratifies¹³ the NPT in February 1981. And in 1982, they have a safeguards agreement, a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]."
Analyst² Mark Fitzpatrick, from London's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), says Egypt does not have the most modern technologies that could be used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.
"The issue is, though, that Egypt conducted some experiments in plutonium separation that they did not notify the IAEA in accordance with their safeguards agreement and it later came out and the IAEA did an investigation," noted¹⁴ Fitzpatrick. "And most of that was cleared up, but there are some remaining questions. And most recently, some highly-enriched uranium particles were discovered by the IAEA and I think they are still investigating the source of that. That all has not yet come out in IAEA reporting, so there is some small cloud hanging over Egypt's nuclear program. I am not saying they are going for nuclear weapons, but they did some things that were not fully¹⁵ in accordance with the rules."
Fitzpatrick says the plutonium experiments were conducted during the past couple of decades and came to light about six or seven years ago. And the evidence concerning the highly-enriched uranium particles was disclosed in the media within the last two years.
Egypt, Iraq and WMDs
On another issue, some analysts, including James Russell, say there have been reports of Egyptians in the 1980s helping¹⁶ Iraq with its chemical weapons research.
"There were also rumors¹⁷ of the Egyptians being involved in building a chemical plant that could possibly have made items that were used for chemical munitions," added Russell. "But again, I don't think that there is any assessment¹⁸ out there today that suggests that the Egyptians are engaged in research or really have any interest in developing chemical weapons."
And Russell says Egypt does not have the necessary industrial base in the chemical sector¹⁹ to build chemical weapons.
"The truth of the matter is that almost all countries around the world - the United States and Russia included - everyone has come to the conclusion that these are not just terribly militarily useful weapons, or that it is a technology which really has limited use in the military arena," Russell explained.
Post Mubarak Concens
Some experts have questioned whether a government replacing President Hosni Mubarak might reconsider some of Cairo's policies on weapons of mass destruction.
"In the chemical and nuclear arenas²⁰, the costs to the Egyptians of attempting such programs are significant," added Russell. "And it just seems to me that any political leadership in Egypt, whatever its character, is going to have to look at these costs. And they are a strong discouragement to them moving down this path to sort of reconsidering the decisions which have been looked at by previous political leadership. I just do not see it."
Analysts say given Cairo's leadership in the Middle East, it is essential that Egypt remains²¹ free of weapons of mass destruction to guarantee stability in that part of the world.

1 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 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。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 postgraduate   

adj.大学毕业后的，大学研究院的；n.研究生

参考例句：

• I didn't put down that I had postgraduate degree.我没有写上我有硕士学位。
• After college,Mary hopes to do postgraduate work in law school.大学毕业后， 玛丽想在法学院从事研究工作。

10 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

12 accrue   

v.(利息等)增大，增多

参考例句：

• Ability to think will accrue to you from good habits of study.思考能力将因良好的学习习惯而自然增强。
• Money deposited in banks will accrue to us with interest.钱存在银行，利息自生。

13 ratifies   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• American Revolutionary War: The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England. 1784年的今天，美国独立战争：美国批准了一项与英国的和平条约。 来自互联网
• Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall ensure the effectiveapplication of its provis ions. 批准本公约的每一会员国应确保有效地实施本公约的规定。 来自互联网

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 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。

17 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

19 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

20 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

21 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。