2006年VOA标准英语-Does North Korea's Taepodong-2 Ballistic Missil

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
06 July 2006

Just a few days ago, North Korea triggered an international furor¹ when it conducted several ballistic missile tests. In this report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at whether the largest missile tested - the Taepodong-2 - poses a serious threat to the United States and other countries. 

----------

Picture from file video of unidentified North Korean missile launch   
  
On July 4 - America's Independence Day - North Korea test launched several missiles. Most of them were of the short and medium-range variety - but one of them was a long-range ballistic missile known as the Taepodong-2.

U.S. Defense² Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters that missile failed after less than a minute of flight.

"The Taepodong-2, the missile that had been watched for some time, that we have been talking about for the past couple of weeks, appears to have failed on its own in the early stages of its launch - and also went into the Sea of Japan, along with the rest of the short-to-medium range missiles," Whitman said.

The North Korean test launches brought international condemnation³. NATO expressed its "grave concern" and U.S. officials described the move as "a provocation⁴."

South Korean man reads  Korea Herald⁵ newspaper reporting North Korea's launching of missiles in Seoul, July 5, 2006  
  
The worry articulated by foreign governments stems from the test launch of the Taepodong-2. Analysts⁶ say very little is known about the missile and that is why North Korea decided⁷ to launch it to see how it performs. Experts say it is a two to three stage ballistic missile estimated to have a range between 3,600 and 4,300 kilometers.

Jim Walsh is a security and nuclear weapons expert with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has traveled to North Korea over the years.

"There is a lot more hype than there is fact surrounding it," he said. "You often get reported the notion that this missile could reach the United States: Alaska or the west coast. I think this is completely overblown. Building an intercontinental ballistic missile is, arguably, the most difficult engineering feat⁸ you can take on - more difficult than building a nuclear weapon. Countries that built nuclear weapons, built nuclear weapons before they were ever able to build an ICBM, because it is much more difficult. And it requires lots of testing. But North Korea has only conducted two tests in eight years."

The last test on July 4, Walsh agrees, was a failure.

"But even if it had succeeded, let me assure you, two tests do not a missile system make," Walsh said. "You don't want to fire one of those things up there, have it come back down and land on your territory. They require a high degree of reliability⁹ and to accomplish that you need lots of testing - and so I think they are really at a very crude stage."

Walsh believes the North Koreans have a long way to go before they perfect the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile.

Experts say even if Pyongyang perfects such a system, the North Koreans face other obstacles. 
 

Passengers on a subway train in Seoul read the newspapers reporting North Korea's launching of missiles, July 6, 2006  
  
"There are other technical difficulties with a system of this kind that relate, really, to what kind of a payload it can carry over what distance? And there you get into questions about whether North Korea has really mastered the kinds of technologies that would allow it to produce a miniaturized [nuclear] warhead that wasn't very heavy and not very large - and being miniaturized, would give the missile a greater length and trajectory," said Adam Ward¹⁰, an Asian security expert with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Experts, including Ward and Walsh, do not believe that North Korea has the capacity right now to build such a warhead.

Adam Ward says the international community must seriously address North Korea's missile test - but at the same time wait and see what Pyongyang will do next.

"The question now is whether this test is a one-off or whether it marked the beginning of a concerted and more determined¹¹ effort to try and overcome some of the problems that obviously they have encountered," he said. "And the question there is what kind of resources are they likely to invest in that effort if it is going to be a sustained campaign of testing and technological¹² surveys - and whether they in fact intend to plow¹³ those resources in, given that the international diplomatic reaction is going to be very severe to a sustained campaign of testing."

North Korea has already announced that it will conduct more missile tests to enhance what it calls its "self-defensive deterrent¹⁴." But Pyongyang did not say when those tests will take place.

1 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

2 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。

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

5 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

9 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

10 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

13 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

14 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。