VOA标准英语--Turkey Presses Ahead With Nuclear Power Plan

The tide may have turned against nuclear power elsewhere, following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan, but Turkey is moving forward with its plans to build its first nuclear power plant.
On Istanbul's main high street, thousands of people protested against Turkey's nuclear energy program. The protest follows Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcement last week that the country is forging ahead in its plan to build its nuclear plant.
For one demonstrator this stance causes disbelief and fear.
"I don't understand why he is so stubborn" he said. "There is an ongoing¹ disaster and he just does not care. This unbelievable. It's dangerous in Chernobyl because of cancer, and I want my child grow up in a natural and healthy environment."
Japan's recent disaster resonates strongly with many Turks. The country has first hand experience of a nuclear disaster when the Chernobyl nuclear power station spewed radioactive fallout all over Turkey's Black Sea coast in 1986.
The only advice people received then was to stay at home, along with words of comfort from the then president Kenan Evren "that radiation is good for the bones."
Turkey is located in one of the most active earthquake regions in the world, and more than 90 percent of its territory is prone² to earthquakes.
In 1999, the Istanbul region was hit by a powerful quake killing³ 30,000 people. But Prime Minister Erdogan plays down the risks.
"Sure all the investments can have negative outcomes," he said. "But you can't give up your investments just because there can be some negative outcomes. We cannot say that there will be no earthquake. Sure it can be and our country is on a seismic⁴ zone. But we take all the precautions."
But with leading nuclear energy users like Germany and China putting their own programs on hold, criticism is growing over the prime minister's stance.
Pinar Aksogan of the environmental group Greenpeace argues the disaster in Japan shows nuclear energy can never be truly safe.
"There are three reasons that nuclear power plants are always fragile: for natural disasters; for human faults; and, mistakes during their construction," he said. "So these three things can never be avoided. So its very obvious, the whole world is rethinking of no longer building nuclear plants. So the insistence⁵ toward Turkey on building new plants is not logical."
Still, Turkey is forging ahead with its nuclear plans by recommitting itself to building three nuclear reactors⁶, with construction on first starting as early as this April.
The program seeks to bridge the country's growing energy gap, the result of its rapidly expanding economy.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, while voicing caution, says the nuclear program should continue.
"It is a fact that Turkey imports energy from abroad," he said. "I don't think it is right for Turkey to immediately give up on the plans for nuclear energy at once. After the Japan incidents these technologies should be reviewed and the contracts and ground work to be carried in minute details."
Experts says energy is seen as the Achilles' heel because it currently imports nearly 95 percent of its oil and gas. With most of the imports coming from volatile⁷ regions like Iran and Iraq and the Caucasus reducing that dependency is seen as key both for security and for economic reasons.
The controversy⁸ over Turkey's nuclear energy program has now spread beyond its borders. Turkey's European Union neighbor Greece has reacted with alarm that Ankara is still continuing with its program. Turkey's first nuclear power station will be located on the Mediterranean⁹ coast, not far from its Greek islands, in Akkuyu.
The Akkuyu site in particular is close to a fault line, as the government concedes. Small tremors¹⁰ are registered in the region almost daily, and a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck the nearby city of Adana in 1998.
Athens is calling on Turkey to follow EU nuclear energy guidelines that restricts the building of nuclear reactors in such vulnerable places. But Ankara although its an EU candidate has dismissed the call saying its not bound by the guidelines as its not a member.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

5 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

6 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。

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

10 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。