VOA慢速英语20061007a

IN THE NEWS - South Korea's Ban Seen as Sure to Become Next U.N. Secretary GeneralBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, October 07, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

South Korean Foreign Minister
Ban Ki-moon

is expected to become secretary-general of the United Nations on January first. Mister Ban was the winner this week in unofficial voting by the Security Council. He was the only one who did not receive a vote of opposition¹ from a member with veto power.

Five countries can veto a council vote: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. These are the five permanent members. The council also has ten elected members.

The ballots³ were secret. But the votes of permanent members were signaled for the first time by a different colored ballot² paper.

The council plans to take an official vote on Monday to nominate the next secretary-general. Then the nomination⁴ will go to the one hundred ninety-two members of the General Assembly. Traditionally, the General Assembly has approved the nomination of the Security Council.

There were six candidates in the fourth and final unofficial vote. Shashi Tharoor finished second. The Indian writer is the U.N. undersecretary-general for public information. He congratulated Mister Ban and withdrew his candidacy.

The second five-year term of Secretary-General Kofi Annan of Ghana ends on December thirty-first. Ban Ki-moon would be the eighth U.N. secretary-general. He would be the first from Asia since U Thant of Burma. U Thant led the United Nations from nineteen sixty-one to ninety seventy-one.

John Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States was very pleased with the result of the vote. Mister Bolton noted⁵ that he and Mister Ban had worked together on the plan that led to U.N. membership for both North and South Korea. Both countries joined the United Nations in nineteen ninety-one.

Ban Ki-moon was born in Chungju in nineteen forty-four. He joined South Korea's foreign service in nineteen seventy after studying international relations at Seoul University.

He says he wanted to be a diplomat⁶ ever since he was eighteen, when he met President John Kennedy at the White House. Mister Ban later earned a master's degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

He became foreign minister of South Korea in January of two thousand four. Earlier he served as chief aide to the president of the U.N. General Assembly. Mister Ban has played a part in the six-nation talks about North Korea's nuclear activity.

He announced his candidacy for secretary-general in February.

Ban Ki-moon is often described as soft-spoken. But he says he takes strength from recent Korean history and the progress Koreans have made since experiencing war.

Major issues that will face the next U.N. chief include the nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea and the violence in Darfur, Sudan.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Brianna Blake. Transcripts⁷ and audio archives of our reports are on the Web at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 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。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句