VOA慢速英语2021 美国防长寻求推动美越关系

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Lloyd Austin looked to improve military relations with Vietnam during talks Thursday.

美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀在周四的会谈中寻求改善与越南的军事关系。

The closer security relations come more than 40 years after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. President Joe Biden's administration, however, has said there are limits to the relationship unless Hanoi makes progress on human rights.

两国之间这种更密切的安全关系在1975年结束的越南战争的40多年后出现了。然而，乔·拜登总统领导的政府表示，除非越南在人权方面取得进展，否则这种关系是有限度的。

Before a meeting with the Vietnamese defense minister in Hanoi, Austin said the United States is not asking Vietnam to choose between countries.

奥斯汀在河内与越南国防部长会面之前表示，美国并没有要求越南在国家之间做出选择。

"One of our central goals is ensuring that our allies and partners have the freedom and the space to chart their own futures," Austin said.

奥斯汀表示：“我们的核心目标之一是确保我们的盟友或是合作伙伴有规划自身未来的自由和空间。”

On Sunday, the U.S. shipped 3 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine² to Vietnam. That raised the amount given to Vietnam by the U.S. through the global COVAX program to 5 million doses.

周日，美国向越南运送了300万剂莫德纳新冠肺炎疫苗。这使得美国通过全球新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划向越南提供的疫苗增加到了500万剂。

Greg Poling is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He said said there was a limit to how fast and far the Vietnamese would deepen ties with the Americans.

格雷格·波林就职于位于华盛顿特区的战略与国际问题研究中心。他表示，越南人深化与美国关系的速度和程度是有限度的。

Experts say Vietnam's concerns about the U.S. remain from the Trump³ Administration. Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership⁴ trade agreement in 2017.

专家表示，越南对美国的担忧仍然来自于川普政府。前总统川普于2017年退出了《跨太平洋伙伴关系贸易协定》。

There are also limits to how far the United States is willing to increase relations if Vietnam does not improve its human rights record.

如果越南不改善其人权记录，美国愿意在多大程度上加强关系也是有限度的。

Vietnam has seen economic reforms and social change in recent decades. The ruling Communist Party, however, keeps tight control over the media and accepts little political debate.

近几十年来，越南经济了经济改革和社会变革。然而，执政的越共严密控制媒体，几乎不结束政治辩论。

In a meeting with Austin on Thursday morning, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he was looking forward to an upcoming visit by U.S. Vice⁵ President Kamala Harris. A source told the Reuters news agency that Harris could be traveling to Vietnam and Singapore in August.

越南总统阮春福周四在跟奥斯汀的会晤中表示，他期待着美国副总统卡马拉·哈马斯即将到来的访问。一位消息人士对路透社表示，哈马斯可能会在8月份访问越南和新加坡。

1 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。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 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。