2007年VOA标准英语-Putin Blames Washington for New 'Arms Race'

By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
31 May 2007

Vladimir Putin, 31 May 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned¹ Thursday what he called U.S. "imperialism²" in world affairs. The comments came during an increasingly tense period in U.S.-Russian relations. Bill Gasperini has more for VOA from Moscow.

Speaking to reporters in the Russian capital, President Putin said U.S. plans to place missile defense³ systems in Europe were starting a new "arms race."

His remarks coincided with a Russian test of a new, multi-warhead intercontinental missile that the Russian military says is capable of penetrating⁴ any anti-missile system.

Mr. Putin said the tests of the new missiles were a response to U.S. steps that have upset the strategic balance in the world.

Mr. Putin says "some members of the international community are nursing a desire to dictate⁵ their will to all and everyone on any issue, without coordinating⁶ their actions with common norms of international law."

Mr. Putin's statements were some of the strongest yet by the Russian president on the U.S. plans to deploy⁷ an anti-missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Washington insists the shield will be defensive⁸ in character, but the Kremlin considers the plan a threat to Russia's security.

In a speech earlier this week, President Putin said the anti-missile plan could turn the European continent into a "powder keg."

Speaking in Germany on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the idea that the U.S. missile shield is a threat to Russia.

"And so I would hope that rather than continuing to worry about something that seems to us in fact just not at all possible, which is that, given the size of the Russian nuclear deterrent⁹, that somehow this system is going to threaten the Russian nuclear deterrent," said Condoleezza Rice. "I would note that President Putin said just yesterday [Tuesday] that Russia's ballistic missiles can overwhelm, penetrate¹⁰, destroy any shield that we might build. We quite agree."

The escalation¹¹ in rhetoric¹² comes days before President Putin is due to meet President Bush at the annual G-8 summit of leading industrialized nations in Germany. The White House has announced that the two presidents will hold a special summit in the United States in early July.

The missile debate is just one issue in an increasingly tense relationship between the former adversaries¹³.

The U.S. and Russia disagree over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program and the state of democratic reforms and human rights in Russia.

In remarks Thursday, White House spokesman Tony Snow took a more positive view of the U.S.-Russian relationship and dismissed the possibility that the U.S. missile plan will revive the cold war.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

3 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。

4 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

5 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

6 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

7 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

8 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

9 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。

10 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

11 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

13 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句