VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - US Condemns WikiLeaks Re

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the release of thousands of State Department documents will not in any way interfere¹ with American diplomacy².

HILLARY CLINTON: “I have not had any concerns expressed about whether any nation will not continue to work with, and discuss matters of importance to us both, going forward.”

Secretary Clinton condemned³ the release of diplomatic cables as an attack on American foreign policy interests and the international community. She said the United States is taking aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole the information. And she said it is taking action to make sure it does not happen again. But the Secretary of State said the real damage to America’s international relationships will be small. She made the comments during a visit to Kazakhstan Wednesday. Secretary Clinton spoke⁴ by telephone with a number of world leaders to express regret for the release of the documents. She made this statement on Monday.

HILLARY CLINTON: “The United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential⁵ including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats⁶’ personal assessments⁷ and observations. I want to make clear that our official foreign policy is not set through these messages but here in Washington.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussing the release of thousands of secret government documents earlier this week

The website WikiLeaks planned to publish more than two hundred fifty thousand diplomatic cables this week. Several newspapers have been reporting details of the documents.

They include statements by American diplomats about the private and public lives of world leaders. They also include criticisms of governments around the world. For example, a secret document apparently⁸ from the American embassy in Moscow says Russia is extremely corrupt⁹ at every level of government.

Hundreds of diplomatic cables from the American embassy in Kabul say corruption¹⁰ exists in every level of government in Afghanistan. The cables accuse government officials of making illegal payments, hiding money and profiting from the drug trade. They also describe Afghan President Hamid Karzai as weak and ineffective.

Some cables say Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have urged the United States to attack Iran as a way to prevent it from getting nuclear weapons. Other cables suggest that the United States military has carried out air strikes against suspected al-Qaida targets in Yemen. The Yemeni government had earlier told its people that its military alone had been carrying out the raids.

WikiLeaks founder¹¹ Julian Assange speaking to media in London this October

Officials believe an American soldier gave all the documents to WikiLeaks after getting them from a Defense¹² Department computer network.

The international police agency INTERPOL approved a “red notice” for the arrest of the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange. It tells officials to follow his movements. Sweden approved an order to arrest Mr. Assange, who is an Australian citizen. He is wanted for questioning about sex crimes.

American government officials have been angry about WikiLeaks publications that began earlier this year. They included hundreds of thousands of documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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

1 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 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。

5 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。