VOA常速英语2007年-Bush: Iran Must Explain More About Nuclear Prog

By Paula Wolfson
White House
05 December 2007
 

President Bush says Iran has a lot of explaining to do about the scope of its nuclear activities. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush says Tehran has a big choice to make.

President Bush is keeping pressure on Iran following a U.S intelligence community report that says Tehran operated a covert² nuclear weapons development program until halting the effort in late 2003.

Mr. Bush says the fact that the program is not currently in operation is not as important as the disclosure that it once existed and could be resumed.

The president says Iran, which has never acknowledged a nuclear weapons program, has a lot of explaining to do. And he stresses the Iranian government has a strategic choice to make.

"They can come clean with the international community about the scope of their nuclear activities and fully³ accept the long standing⁴ offer to suspend their enrichment program and come to the table and negotiate, or they can continue on a path of isolation⁵ that is not in the best interest of the Iranian people," he said.

The president spoke⁶ in Omaha, Nebraska at the start of a visit designed to highlight his health care policy. But it was clear as he landed at a local airport that Iran was very much on his mind.

President Bush said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House National Security Advisor⁷ Stephen Hadley have been consulting with officials from Britain, France, Germany and Russia since the release of the intelligence assessment⁸ on Iran. He said there was unity¹ on the need for continued vigilance.

"These countries understand that the Iranian nuclear issue is a problem and continues to be a problem that must be addressed by the international community," he said.

The White House is seeking a new round of U.N. sanctions on Iran. Critics say the new National Intelligence Estimate mitigates⁹ the need for harsh action.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the report supports Iran's assertion that its nuclear program is for energy, not weapons. He told supporters in Tehran that Iran would stand firm behind its right to obtain nuclear technology and would not retreat.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

3 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。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 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。

6 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。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 mitigates   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Data Control is the containment of activity. It is what mitigates risk. 数据控制就是限制攻击者活动的机制，它可以降低安全风险。 来自互联网
• Laziness also mitigates the threat from piracy. 懒散也减轻了来自盗版的威胁。 来自互联网