VOA标准英语2013--North Korea Marks Anniversary Without Missile Test

 

North Korea Marks Anniversary Without Missile Test

North Korea celebrated¹ the anniversary of what it calls the Day of the Sun with a festival of flowers and members of the military saluting² statues of Kim Il Sung and the late leader Kim Jong-Il.

There were no large military parades to recognize the nation’s most important holiday.

More significantly, there were no ballistic missile or rocket launches, as had been widely expected.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “Well any absence of provocative³ behavior or unhelpful rhetoric⁴ is a good thing in this case.”

For weeks, North Korea has made repeated threats of a possible nuclear attack, including against the United States.

Provocative remarks by the country’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, led to fears of a military confrontation⁵ on the Korean peninsula.

But in contrast to recent tirades⁶ against its enemies, North Korea state media hardly made mention of the conflict on Monday.

Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said “I hope that China and others persuaded the North Koreans that it just wasn’t worth it, and we will see if that proves to be the case. But I think it is too soon to know.”

Pyongyang has been angry about joint⁷ U.S.-South Korean military exercises and the latest U.N. sanctions for carrying out a nuclear test in February.

Analysts⁸ say it is not yet clear whether tensions are beginning to wane⁹.

“We are likely to see this thing wind down, for now, although that could be proven wrong as well. But one thing the North Koreans haven’t done in this case is kill anybody. And I think maybe they thought through that if they do kill somebody then we have to do something back," said O’Hanlon.

The situation topped the agenda of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. He was traveling in the region and wrapped up his trip in Japan.

Kerry says Washington is willing to negotiate with North Korea if Pyongyang takes steps toward abandoning nuclear weapons.

“But the burden is on Pyongyang. North Korea must take meaningful steps to show that it will honor commitments it has already made and it has to observe laws and the norms of international behavior," he said.

Analysts predict that North Korea will continue its missile launches and nuclear weapons tests regardless of the consequences.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

3 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

4 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

5 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

6 tirades   

激烈的长篇指责或演说( tirade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• What's the matter with Levin today?Why doesn't he launch into one of his tirades? 你所说得话我全记录下来列文今天怎么啦？没有反唇相讥？

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 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。

9 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。