2007年VOA标准英语-Iranian President Faces US Critics

By Robert Raffaele
Washington
25 September 2007
 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has again denied U.S. accusations¹ that Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons, and is supplying weapons and training to insurgents² in Iraq. Mr. Ahmadinejad made his comments Monday during a controversial visit to Columbia University in New York. As VOA's Robert Raffaele explains, the Iranian president also faced numerous questions about civil rights in Iran and his earlier suggestions that the Holocaust³ never happened.

Mr. Ahmadinejad faced stinging words before he even spoke⁴, from the very man who had invited him. 

"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty, cruel dictator," said Columbia University Preident Lee Bollinger during the introduction.  

Mr. Ahmadinejad later chastised⁵ Bollinger for what the Iranian leader called his "insults" and "unfriendly treatment."

The Iranian president's visit to the U.S. includes an address to the United Nations General Assembly today [September 25th]. Many people, including human rights and Jewish groups, protested Columbia's invitation to Mr. Ahmadinejad.

But Bollinger defended the decision on the grounds of free speech and academic freedom.

Critics are still angry at Mr. Ahmadinejad's suggestion that the Holocaust never happened.

Through a translator Monday, he defended his calls for more research on the topic by suggesting a link between the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Holocaust. "But then why don't we encourage more research on an historical event that has become the root, the cause of many heavy catastrophies in the region in this time and age?"  asked the Iranian president. "Why shouldn't there be more research about the root causes? That was my first question. And my second question -- well, given, this historical event, if it is a reality, we need to still question if the Palestinian people should still be paying for it or not. After all,  it happened in Europe. The Palestinian people had no role to play in it."

Mr. Ahmadinejad denied Bush administration claims that Iran is training and equipping insurgents in Iraq.

He also again rejected accusations that Iran is enriching uranium, to develop nuclear weapons. "Repeated reports by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] explicitly⁶ say that there is no indication that Iran has deviated⁷ from the peaceful path of its nuclear program. We're all aware that Iran's nuclear issue is a political issue. It's not a legal issue," said Mr. Ahmadinejad.

On one topic, Mr. Ahmadinejad drew laughter from the audience. "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. (laughter)  We don't have that in our country. (boos) "

He also deflected⁸ questions about reports of the oppression of women and executions of reporters in Iran, accusing the media of distorting information.

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

4 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。

5 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 deviated   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。