2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Debate Ways to Thwart Nuclear Terr

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
28 April 2006
 
A panel of experts gathered on Capitol Hill Friday to discuss efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining enriched uranium and plutonium to make bombs.

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At a briefing for congressional staffers and reporters, the experts urged Congress to do more to help secure nuclear material in the world.

Former Congressman¹ Timothy Roemer played a key role in establishing the commission which probed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, and is now president of the Center for National Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

"The bottom line is that the United States needs to show the maximum effort to address the most dangerous people in the world getting the most dangerous weapons. So far we have had a grade of insufficient² progress. We are not doing enough, we are not doing it quickly enough, and we are not doing it effectively enough," he said.

Roemer said some 20 tons of highly enriched uranium exist at 130 civilian³ research facilities in 40 countries, many of which have no more security than a chain link fence and a night watchman. He cited International Atomic Energy Agency reports saying there have been 16 thefts involving highly enriched uranium and plutonium - loose nuclear material, he noted⁴, that could be the source of a potential al-Qaida bomb.

Roemer urged Congress to strengthen and increase funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which is the U.S. government's main instrument for securing the loose fissile material that is still scattered⁵ around the former Soviet⁶ Union. He said the initiative must be expanded to work beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union.

"We need to make sure that beyond and above Russia, that this is not just a Russia - United States issue, but a global issue, and that we are looking at the civilian reactors⁷, hundreds of them, throughout the world, that we need to make sure that enriched uranium does not get into the wrong hands," he said.

Another issue underscored at the Capitol Hill forum⁸ is the need for ratification⁹ of an international treaty on nuclear liability coverage¹⁰.

Daniel Poneman, a former member of the National Security Council who now works for the Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory¹¹ firm, noted that an increasing number of nuclear power plants are being built around the world to meet growing energy needs.

He urged Congress to ratify¹² the Convention on Supplementary¹³ Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which would protect U.S. suppliers of nuclear technology from unlimited¹⁴ civil lawsuits¹⁵ arising from their activities in foreign markets.

Ponemen says that such U.S. firms, which he argues have better safety records than suppliers from other countries, are reluctant to work in overseas markets because of the lack of adequate liability protection under current treaties.

"Congress needs to ratify and put into force that convention, so that when U.S. companies are working internationally, they have the insurance coverage they need to go forward. If they do not, the whole world will be ceded¹⁶ to other companies in other countries that are far less interested in safeguards, that are far less likely to be as safe as we are, in protecting against acts such as nuclear terrorism," he said.

Another panelist, Ellen Laipson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Henry Stimson Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dealing¹⁷ with security issues, said the United States needs to continue to improve its methods of intelligence gathering¹⁸ and analysis.

Laipson said she is not yet convinced that the reorganization of the U.S. intelligence community following the September 11 attacks has improved.

"In the case of intelligence reform, it is possible that we are moving in the direction of bigger, but not necessarily better. I wish there were more focus on the quality of the product and the output of the intelligence community not simply the size and the arrangement of the boxes in the bureaucratic¹⁹ chart," he said.

Laipson is a former Vice²⁰ Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, the U.S. intelligence community's strategic analysis center.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 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。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

12 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

13 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

14 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

19 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

20 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。