voa标准英语2008年-US Calls Proposed Deployment of Russian Missile

The United States said Friday a proposed deployment¹ of Russian short-range missiles in Belarus would not be helpful to regional security. The State Department also acknowledged another round of high-level U.S. contacts with Belarus, aimed at improving the strained relationship. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here are expressing concern about the prospect² of Russian missile deployments in Belarus, while also confirming new U.S.-Belarusian political contacts.
　

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (R) in Minsk, 02 Nov 2008

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he is having talks with Moscow on putting Russian Iskander missiles in Belarus - the same weapon Moscow is threatening to place in its Kaliningrad Baltic enclave to counter the proposed U.S. missile defense³ system in Europe.

Mr. Lukashenko, in a Wall Street Journal interview Friday, said he absolutely supports the Russian plan for Kaliningrad, and said Moscow has also proposed putting some of the highly-accurate short-range weapons in Belarus.

The Belarusian leader said acquiring Iskander missiles, which have a 400-kilometer range and include some Belarusian components⁴, are in his country's defense plans even if no early deployment deal with Moscow is reached.

Asked about the comments here, State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood reiterated⁵ that the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic is to counter a perceived Iranian missile threat. He said deploying⁶ new missiles in Europe because of it is just not helpful to regional stability:
　

A launcher of short-range Iskander missiles during a rehearsal7 for the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow, 29 Apr 2008

"As we've said over and again, this missile defense system is not targeted at the Russians, Belarus or anybody. It's basically designed to prevent, and deal with rogue⁸ threats, rogue missile threats, from the Middle East region, particularly from Iran. So it's nothing new with regard to our policy," Wood said.

Mr. Lukashenko told The Wall Street Journal that while he sides with Moscow on the missile issue and in its dispute with Washington over the recent Georgia conflict, he would like to have closer ties with the West.

Spokesman Wood said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs David Merkel had talks in New York late last month with the deputy chief of the Belarusian presidential bureau, Natalia Petkevich, a close Lukashenko adviser⁹.

It was the second such high-level discussion since August aimed at exploring better ties between the Minsk government and Washington.

Relations have long been strained over Mr. Lukashenko's authoritarian¹⁰ governing style and human rights abuses. But they have warmed somewhat following the recent release of three high-profile detainees considered to have been the last Belarusian political prisoners.

Spokesman Wood said the United States wants better relations, but for that to occur, Belarus must adhere to international human rights obligations and standards.

A senior U.S. official said the September parliamentary elections in Belarus, heavily criticized by international monitors for a faulty vote-count, were a disappointment.

The same official said the release of U.S. citizen Emanuel Zeltser, jailed in Belarus since March on industrial espionage¹¹ charges, would be a good step toward improving the relationship.

The State Department has frequently urged the release of Zeltser, who is believed to be in ill health, on humanitarian¹² grounds.

1 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

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 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

7 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

8 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

11 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

12 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。