2007年VOA标准英语-UN Conference Aims to Reduce Threat of Biologic

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
20 August 2007

Experts attending an international conference are calling for quick action to reduce the threat posed by biological weapons. Participants attending the week-long meeting at the United Nations in Geneva say the so-called war on terror makes it more urgent than ever to strengthen the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. Lisa Schlein reports.

Negotiations¹ to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention collapsed² in the summer of 2001 after the United States rejected proposed verification measures. Washington said they would do little to deter³ countries from seeking biological weapons. A short time later terrorists carried out the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

U.N. Disarmament Official, Richard Lennane says the terrorist attacks renewed interest in the treaty.

"There was this recognition that the threats, including the threat of terrorism had really, as you say, focused minds and did increase, what can we say, the flexibility⁴ or willingness to cooperate and to find a common approach among the States parties which until then had, as you know, some very stark⁵ differences," said Lennane.

The Biological Weapons Convention prohibits the Development, Production and Stockpiling of these Toxic⁶ weapons. The Convention, which was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons, was enacted⁷ in 1972 and came into force in 1975.

But, the Convention's single greatest weakness is that it has no international verification measures. It does not allow for on-site inspections⁸ of industrial facilities to see whether nations are cheating on their commitments.

The Chairman of the Conference, Pakistani Ambassador, Masood Khan, agrees this is a problem. He says there is no common ground on having on-site inspections so countries have essentially⁹ given up trying to get an international verification regime. He says they are working on other measures to try to achieve similar results.

"This week we are meeting to take stock of national implementation¹⁰ measures," said Khan.

Besides that, the experts will be looking at ways to control individuals or groups within countries from getting hold of biological weapons. They also will seek to improve cooperation among the different national law enforcement agencies.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

4 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

5 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。