voa标准英语2008年-South Korean Officials Return From North As Joi

South Korean officials who usually work in North Korea have returned home as ties between the two cold war rivals worsen. Both sides are getting ready for a complete border closure the North has promised to enforce next week. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.
　

South Korean tourists return after visiting North Korea city of Kaesong at customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom (DMZ) north of Seoul, South Korea, 28 Nov 2008

A South Korean freight train made its final scheduled crossing into North Korea Friday. The daily rail crossings were seen to have such symbolic¹ value that the train often made its journey north completely empty of cargo².

The train conductor, Shin Jang-cheol says even though the train service is halted for now, he hopes it can resume again in the future.

The train route and a tour program to the North Korean city of Kaesong are the latest inter-Korean projects to go into a deep freeze as ties between the two sides worsen. A joint³ tourism zone was suspended in July after North Korean soldiers shot a visiting South Korean housewife to death, then refused to cooperate in an investigation⁴.

Six South Korean government officials were among those who crossed into the South Friday after leaving their jobs at a joint industrial park in Kaesong. South Korean Unification Ministry⁵ Spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon says hundreds more South Koreans will also return.

He says out of more than 4,000 South Koreans who have visas from the North to stay in the Kaesong complex, about 1,500 have gotten permission to stay after December 1.

December 1 is Monday - when North Korea has vowed⁶ to completely restrict crossings of its southern border. Pyongyang is angry at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, whom North Korean media frequently describe as a "traitor⁷" for his conservative policies.

When he took office in January, President Lee ended ten years of efforts by previous governments to seek friendship with the North in exchange for massive aid and investment. North Korea accuses the Lee administration of dragging its feet on implementing⁸ agreements made by his two predecessors⁹ which promise billions of dollars in South Korean backing for projects in the North.

The North has also expressed anger at South Korea's failure to prevent the launch of balloon-carried leaflets into the North by private groups. The leaflets harshly criticize North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and contain sensitive information about his apparent recovery from a stroke.

Former President Kim Dae-jung, architect of the so-called "sunshine policy" of open-ended assistance to the North, accused President Lee this week of "intentionally¹⁰ harming" North-South relations.

Yoon Sang-hyun, a legislator with the South Korean president's ruling party, says Mr. Lee is right to make South Korean aid consistent with North Korea's cooperation on iss ues like nuclear disarmament.

He says the main crisis here is the North Korean government itself. It's not South Korea's policies that need to change, he says, it is North Korea that needs to change.

Many analysts¹¹ say major North-South projects like the Kaesong zone are now in danger of coming to a complete end. Even if Kaesong continues, economists¹² say investors¹³ are probably much more fearful about committing resources and staff to the project.

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

8 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

9 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会