VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - Waiting for Next Move With N

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Former president Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday. He met with its leader to gain the release of two detained American journalists.
　
Bill Clinton sits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang

Kim Jong Il gave Laura Ling and Euna Lee what North Korean media called a special pardon. The women were arrested in March near the border with China. They were sentenced in June to face twelve years of hard labor¹ for illegally entering North Korea. They were working for Current TV, a media company chaired by Mister Clinton's former vice² president, Al Gore³.

The surprise visit came at a time when the United States and other countries have been putting more pressure on North Korea. They increased economic actions against North Korea after it launched missiles and tested a nuclear device. The North also withdrew from six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament. All this happened since January, when President Obama took office.

Peter Brookes is an Asia-Pacific expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. He says Mister Clinton's visit could be seen as the United States softening⁴ its policy on North Korea.
　
Euna Lee, in light shirt, and Laura Ling reunite with their families at the Burbank, California, airport

PETER BROOKES: "There's no penalty for the things that they've done. We could get into a situation here of a moral hazard by rewarding bad behavior. We are going to be getting more of it."

But Dennis Wilder of the Brookings Institution in Washington says the United States had no choice.

DENNIS WILDER: "I think the decision to allow him to go was the right one because it got the journalists home. And, as a private citizen on a humanitarian⁵ mission, that was very good."

The former president went with the approval of the Obama administration. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says her husband's trip was not an official visit.

HILLARY CLINTON: "We have successfully completed a humanitarian mission that was a private mission."

President Obama spoke⁶ about the two women shortly after they met with their families at an airport near Los Angeles.

BARACK OBAMA: "The reunion that we've all seen on television, I think, is a source of happiness not only for the families but also for the entire country."

But critics say the United States gave North Korea the two things it demanded. One was a high-level visit. The other was an apology for the illegal entry. Secretary Clinton gave that apology last month:

HILLARY CLINTON: "I think everyone is very sorry that it happened."

There are no diplomatic relations between North Korea and the United States. The last time an American official visited the North was nine years ago during Mister Clinton's presidency⁷.

Observers say North Korea is attempting to reconnect with the United States now that it has a new president. The international community will be watching and waiting to see what happens next.
　
Hillary Clinton with Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed in Nairobi, Kenya

The secretary of state also traveled this week. She began an eleven-day trip to Africa. Secretary Clinton arrived in Kenya Tuesday for talks with that country's leaders. She also met with the leader of Somalia and expressed support for its Transitional Federal Government. She warned Eritrea to end its support for groups fighting to control Somalia.

Next she traveled to South Africa. Her trip also includes stops in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape⁸ Verde.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

4 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 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。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。