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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Atoms for Peace"
Madam President and Members of the General Assembly:
When Secretary General Hammarskjold’s invitation to address this General Assembly reached me in Bermuda, I was just beginning a series of conferences with the Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Great Britain and of France. Our subject was some of the problems that beset1 our world.
During the remainder of the Bermuda Conference, I had constantly in mind that ahead of me lay a great honor. That honor is mine today, as I stand here, privileged to address the General Assembly of the United Nations.
At the same time that I appreciate the distinction of addressing you, I have a sense of exhilaration as I look upon this Assembly. Never before in history has so much hope for so many people been gathered together in a single organization. Your deliberations and decisions during these somber2 years have already realized part of those hopes.
But the great tests and the great accomplishments3 still lie ahead. And in the confident expectation of those accomplishments, I would use the office which, for the time being, I hold, to assure you that the Government of the United States will remain steadfast4 in its support of this body. This we shall do in the conviction that you will provide a great share of the wisdom, of the courage, and the faith which can bring to this world lasting5 peace for all nations, and happiness and well-being6 for all men.
Clearly, it would not be fitting for me to take this occasion to present to you a unilateral American report on Bermuda. Nevertheless, I assure you that in our deliberations on that lovely island we sought to invoke7 those same great concepts of universal peace and human dignity which are so cleanly etched in your Charter. Neither would it be a measure of this great opportunity merely to recite, however hopefully, pious9 platitudes10.
I therefore decided11 that this occasion warranted my saying to you some of the things that have been on the minds and hearts of my legislative12 and executive associates, and on mine, for a great many months -- thoughts I had originally planned to say primarily to the American people.
I know that the American people share my deep belief that if a danger exists in the world, it is a danger shared by all; and equally, that if hope exists in the mind of one nation, that hope should be shared by all.
Finally, if there is to be advanced any proposal designed to ease even by the smallest measure the tensions of today’s world, what more appropriate audience could there be than the members of the General Assembly of the United Nations. I feel impelled13 to speak today in a language that in a sense is new, one which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of atomic warfare14.
The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension, at least in comparative terms, of the extent of this development, of the utmost significance to everyone of us. Clearly, if the peoples of the world are to conduct an intelligent search for peace, they must be armed with the significant facts of today’s existence.
My recital15 of atomic danger and power is necessarily stated in United States terms, for these are the only incontrovertible facts that I know. I need hardly point out to this Assembly, however, that this subject is global, not merely national in character.
On July 16, 1945, the United States set off the world’s first atomic explosion.
Since that date in 1945, the United States of America has conducted forty-two test explosions. Atomic bombs today are more than twenty-five times as powerful as the weapons with which the atomic age dawned, while hydrogen weapons are in the ranges of millions of tons of TNT equivalent.
Today, the United States stockpile of atomic weapons, which, of course, increases daily, exceeds by many times the total [explosive] equivalent of the total of all bombs and all shells that came from every plane and every gun in every theatre of war in all the years of World War II.
A single air group, whether afloat or land based, can now deliver to any reachable target a destructive cargo16 exceeding in power all the bombs that fell on Britain in all of World War II. In size and variety, the development of atomic weapons has been no less remarkable17. The development has been such that atomic weapons have virtually achieved conventional status within our armed services.
In the United States, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine18 Corps19 are all capable of putting this weapon to military use. But the dread20 secret and the fearful engines of atomic might are not ours alone.
In the first place, the secret is possessed21 by our friends and allies, Great Britain and Canada, whose scientific genius made a tremendous contribution to our original discoveries and the designs of atomic bombs.
The Soviet Union has informed us that, over recent years, it has devoted23 extensive resources to atomic weapons. During this period the Soviet Union has exploded a series of atomic devices, including at least one involving thermo-nuclear reactions. If at one time the Unites States possessed what might have been called a monopoly of atomic power, that monopoly ceased to exist several years ago.
Therefore, although our earlier start has permitted us to accumulate what is today a great quantitative24 advantage, the atomic realities of today comprehend two facts of even greater significance.
First, the knowledge now possessed by several nations will eventually be shared by others, possibly all others.
Second, even a vast superiority in numbers of weapons, and a consequent capability25 of devastating26 retaliation27, is no preventive, of itself, against the fearful material damage and toll28 of human lives that would be inflicted30 by surprise aggression31. The free world, at least dimly aware of these facts, has naturally embarked32 on a large program of warning and defense33 systems. That program will be accelerated and expanded. But let no one think that the expenditure34 of vast sums for weapons and systems of defense can guarantee absolute safety for the cities and citizens of any nation. The awful arithmetic of the atomic bomb does not permit of any such easy solution. Even against the most powerful defense, an aggressor in possession of the effective minimum number of atomic bombs for a surprise attack could probably place a sufficient number of his bombs on the chosen targets to cause hideous35 damage.
Should such an atomic attack be launched against the United States, our reactions would be swift and resolute36. But for me to say that the defense capabilities37 of the United States are such that they could inflict29 terrible losses upon an aggressor, for me to say that the retaliation capabilities of the Unites States are so great that such an aggressor’s land would be laid waste, all this, while fact, is not the true expression of the purpose and the hope of the United States.
To pause there would be to confirm the hopeless finality of a belief that two atomic colossi are doomed38 malevolently39 to eye each other indefinitely across a trembling world. To stop there would be to accept helplessly the probability of civilization destroyed, the annihilation of the irreplaceable heritage of mankind handed down to use generation from generation, and the condemnation40 of mankind to begin all over again the age-old struggle upward from savagery41 toward decency42, and right, and justice. Surely no sane43 member of the human race could discover victory in such desolation.
Could anyone wish his name to be coupled by history with such human degradation44 and destruction? Occasional pages of history do record the faces of the “great destroyers,” but the whole book of history reveals mankind’s never-ending quest for peace and mankind’s God-given capacity to build.
It is with the book of history, and not with isolated45 pages, that the United States will ever wish to be identified. My country wants to be constructive46, not destructive. It wants agreements, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom and in the confidence that the people of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life.
So my country’s purpose is to help us to move out of the dark chamber47 of horrors into the light, to find a way by which the minds of men, the hopes of men, the souls of men everywhere, can move forward towards peace and happiness and well-being.
In this quest, I know that we must not lack patience. I know that in a world divided, such as ours today, salvation48 cannot be attained49 by one dramatic act. I know that many steps will have to be taken over many months before the world can look at itself one day and truly realize that a new climate of mutually peaceful confidence is abroad in the world. But I know, above all else, that we must start to take these steps now.
The United States and its allies, Great Britain and France, have, over the past months, tried to take some of these steps. Let no one say that we shun51 the conference table. On the record has long stood the request of the United States, Great Britain, and France to negotiate with the Soviet Union the problems of a divided Germany. On that record has long stood the request of the same three nations to negotiate an Austrian peace treaty. On the same record still stands the request of the United Nations to negotiate the problems of Korea.
Most recently we have received from the Soviet Union what is in effect an expression of willingness to hold a four-Power meeting. Along with our allies, Great Britain and France, we were pleased to see that his note did not contain the unacceptable pre-conditions previously52 put forward. As you already know from our joint53 Bermuda communiqué, the United States, Great Britain, and France have agreed promptly54 to meet with the Soviet Union.
The Government of the United States approaches this conference with hopeful sincerity55. We will bend every effort of our minds to the single purpose of emerging from that conference with tangible56 results towards peace, the only true way of lessening57 international tension. We never have, we never will, propose or suggest that the Soviet Union surrender what is rightly theirs. We will never say that the people of the Russia are an enemy with whom we have no desire ever to deal or mingle58 in friendly and fruitful relationship.
On the contrary, we hope that this coming conference may initiate59 a relationship with the Soviet Union which will eventually bring about a free intermingling of the peoples of the East and of the West -- the one sure, human way of developing the understanding required for confident and peaceful relations.
Instead of the discontent which is now settling upon Eastern Germany, occupied Austria, and the countries of Eastern Europe, we seek a harmonious60 family of free European nations, with none a threat to the other, and least of all a threat to the peoples of the Russia. Beyond the turmoil61 and strife62 and misery63 of Asia, we seek peaceful opportunity for these peoples to develop their natural resources and to elevate their lives.
These are not idle words or shallow visions. Behind them lies a story of nations lately come to independence, not as a result of war, but through free grant or peaceful negotiation64. There is a record already written of assistance gladly given by nations of the West to needy65 peoples and to those suffering the temporary effects of famine, drought, and natural disaster. These are deeds of peace. They speak more loudly than promises or protestations of peaceful intent.
But I do not wish to rest either upon the reiteration66 of past proposals or the restatement of past deeds. The gravity of the time is such that every new avenue of peace, no matter how dimly discernible, should be explored. There is at least one new avenue of peace which has not yet been well explored -- an avenue now laid out by the General Assembly of the Unites Nations.
In its resolution of November 18, 1953 this General Assembly suggested -- and I quote -- “that the Disarmament Commission study the desirability of establishing a sub-committee consisting of representatives of the Powers principally involved, which should seek in private an acceptable solution and report such a solution to the General Assembly and to the Security Council not later than September 1, of 1954.”
The United States, heeding67 the suggestion of the General Assembly of the United Nations, is instantly prepared to meet privately68 with such other countries as may be “principally involved,” to seek “an acceptable solution” to the atomic armaments race which overshadows not only the peace, but the very life of the world. We shall carry into these private or diplomatic talks a new conception.
The United States would seek more than the mere8 reduction or elimination69 of atomic materials for military purposes. It is not enough to take this weapon out of the hands of the soldiers. It must be put into the hands of those who will know how to strip its military casing and adapt it to the arts of peace.
The United States knows that if the fearful trend of atomic military build-up can be reversed, this greatest of destructive forces can be developed into a great boon70, for the benefit of all mankind. The United States knows that peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future. That capability, already proved, is here, now, today. Who can doubt, if the entire body of the world’s scientists and engineers had adequate amounts of fissionable material with which to test and develop their ideas, that this capability would rapidly be transformed into universal, efficient, and economic usage?
To hasten the day when fear of the atom will begin to disappear from the minds of people and the governments of the East and West, there are certain steps that can be taken now. I therefore make the following proposals:
The governments principally involved, to the extent permitted by elementary prudence71, to begin now and continue to make joint contributions from their stockpiles of normal uranium and fissionable materials to an international atomic energy agency. We would expect that such an agency would be set up under the aegis72 of the United Nations.
The ratios of contributions, the procedures, and other details would properly be within the scope of the “private conversations” I have referred to earlier.
The United States is prepared to undertake these explorations in good faith. Any partner of the United States acting73 in the same good faith will find the United States a not unreasonable74 or ungenerous associate.
Undoubtedly75, initial and early contributions to this plan would be small in quantity. However, the proposal has the great virtue76 that it can be undertaken without the irritations77 and mutual50 suspicions incident to any attempt to set up a completely acceptable system of world-wide inspection78 and control.
The atomic energy agency could be made responsible for the impounding, storage, and protection of the contributed fissionable and other materials. The ingenuity79 of our scientists will provide special safe conditions under which such a bank of fissionable material can be made essentially80 immune to surprise seizure81.
The more important responsibility of this atomic energy agency would be to devise methods whereby this fissionable material would be allocated82 to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind. Experts would be mobilized to apply atomic energy to the needs of agriculture, medicine, and other peaceful activities. A special purpose would be to provide abundant electrical energy in the power-starved areas of the world. Thus the contributing Powers would be dedicating some of their strength to serve the needs rather than the fears of mankind.
The United States would be more than willing -- it would be proud to take up with others “principally involved” the development of plans whereby such peaceful use of atomic energy would be expedited.
Of those “principally involved” the Soviet Union must, of course, be one. I would be prepared to submit to the Congress of the United States, and with every expectation of approval, any such plan that would, first, encourage world-wide investigation83 into the most effective peacetime uses of fissionable material, and with the certainty that they [the investigators] had all the material needed for the conduct of all experiments that were appropriate; second, begin to diminish the potential destructive power of the world’s atomic stockpiles; third, allow all peoples of all nations to see that, in this enlightened age, the great Powers of the earth, both of the East and of the West, are interested in human aspirations84 first rather than in building up the armaments of war; fourth, open up a new channel for peaceful discussion and initiate at least a new approach to the many difficult problems that must be solved in both private and public conversations, if the world is to shake off the inertia85 imposed by fear and is to make positive progress toward peace.
Against the dark background of the atomic bomb, the United States does not wish merely to present strength, but also the desire and the hope for peace.
The coming months will be fraught86 with fateful decisions. In this Assembly, in the capitals and military headquarters of the world, in the hearts of men everywhere, be they governed or governors, may be the decisions which will lead this world out of fear and into peace.
To the making of these fateful decisions, the United States pledges before you, and therefore before the world, its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma87 -- to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous88 inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated89 to his death, but consecrated90 to his life.
I again thank the delegates for the great honor they have done me in inviting91 me to appear before them and in listening to me so courteously92.
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1
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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invoke
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| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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platitudes
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| n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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Soviet
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| adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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quantitative
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| adj.数量的，定量的 | |
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capability
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| n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
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devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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capabilities
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| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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malevolently
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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reiteration
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| n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说 | |
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heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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elimination
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| n.排除，消除，消灭 | |
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70
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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aegis
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| n.盾；保护，庇护 | |
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73
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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74
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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75
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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76
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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77
irritations
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| n.激怒( irritation的名词复数 )；恼怒；生气；令人恼火的事 | |
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78
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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79
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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80
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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81
seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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82
allocated
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| adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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83
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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84
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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85
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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86
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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87
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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88
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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89
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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90
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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91
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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92
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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