VOA慢速英语2015 美国称赞伊朗核协议的同时其他国家表示担忧

US Praises Nuclear Deal with Iran, Others Concerned 美国称赞伊朗核协议的同时其他国家表示担忧

The deal between Iran and six world powers to place limits on Iran’s nuclear program has brought reactions from cheers to alarm around the world. Negotiators reached a framework of an agreement after eight days of intensive negotiation¹ in Lausanne, Switzerland.

President Barack Obama praised the agreement as “historic” and “a good deal that meets our core objectives.” He said the agreement would make the world safer and keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon if fully² carried out. The president said the limits placed on Iran would be the strongest in history.

“This framework would cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran will face strict limitations on its program, and Iran has also agreed to the most robust³ and intrusive⁴ inspections⁵ and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history.”

Many Iranians welcomed news of the agreement, which would ease existing sanctions in exchange for a list of requirements meant to keep Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Supporters welcomed Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on his return to Tehran. Hundreds of Iranians celebrated⁶ in the streets in hopes that their country’s economic isolation⁷ would come to an end. And Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called it a “day that will remain in the historical memory of the Iranian nation.”

Iranian hardliners, on the other hand, denounced the agreement as a bad deal.

In Israel, the reaction was of alarm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting of his security Cabinet Friday. He expressed strong opposition⁸ to the agreement. He said it “would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world, and would threaten the very survival of the state of Israel.” He also said it helps Iran’s economy while raising the risk of a nuclear arms race in the area.

The reaction was more restrained in the Gulf⁹ region. Saudi official media reported that King Salman voiced hope that a final settlement on the nuclear dispute would “strengthen the stability and security of the region and the world” in a phone call with President Obama.

Details of the Agreement

Besides the U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany negotiated the deal. Under the agreement, Iran is required to pull back its abilities to create a nuclear weapon. The deal centers on lengthening¹⁰ the time it would take for Iran to produce a nuclear bomb -- the so-called “break out” time. U.S. information says that Iran could produce enough material for a bomb in two to three months. The agreement lengthens¹¹ that time “to at least one year, for a duration of 10 years.”

Iran also agreed to reduce the number of centrifuges -- devices used to enrich uranium -- by one third. The country is to keep about 5,000 centrifuges for 10 years.

In addition, the deal calls on Iran to reduce the enrichment level of its existing nuclear, or fissile, material. Iran will convert one nuclear facility so that it cannot enrich uranium, and it will redesign its Arak nuclear reactor¹² so that it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium.

United Nations inspections of all of Iran’s nuclear facilities would be increased in order to verify that the agreement was being followed.

In exchange, Iran will receive relief from international sanctions. However, when sanctions will end remains¹³ a question. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif insisted Friday that they would be lifted immediately. He suggested that any U.S. official saying that was not the case would be wrong. But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a radio interview that the issue of lifting sanctions was, in his words, “not yet resolved.”

President Obama indicated that many details of the agreement have yet to be reached. He said on Thursday that the deal would be finalized¹⁴ over the next three months. In his words, “nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed.” He also warned that “if Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place” -- although critics question how that could be done quickly or easily.

In Congress, Republican lawmakers have threatened to pass new sanctions on Iran. President Obama said critics of his effort to make a nuclear deal with Iran were wrong. He said failure to reach a deal would be called a failure of U.S. diplomacy¹⁵.

If fully carried out, the deal could be considered the most important international agreement of Mr. Obama’s presidency¹⁶.

Words in The News      

framework – n. a set of ideas or facts that provide support for something

fissile – adj. about to undergo nuclear fission¹⁷, able to cause a nuclear reaction

verify – v. to prove, show, find out or state that something is true, correct or completed

duration – n. the length of time that something exists or lasts

1 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

5 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

8 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。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 lengthening   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长

参考例句：

• The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
• The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分

11 lengthens   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In summer, the daylight hour lengthens. 夏天，白天的时间长。
• Summer lengthens (out) into autumn. 夏去秋来。

12 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 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。

16 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。

17 fission   

n.裂开；分裂生殖

参考例句：

• The fission of the cell could be inhibited with certain chemicals.细胞的裂变可以通过某些化学药品加以抑制。
• Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy.核裂变释放出巨大的能量。