VOA常速英语2008年-US Official Asks India to Move Quickly to Seal

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
05 March 2008

A senior American official has urged India to move quickly to wrap up a civilian¹ nuclear deal with the United States. The request comes as India's prime minister says his government is trying to build a political consensus² on the controversial agreement, which is strongly opposed by his communist allies. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher says the civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States faces a lot of "tight deadlines."

Boucher spoke³ to reporters Wednesday in New Delhi, where he has met Indian officials.

The deal will allow New Delhi to get access to civilian nuclear technology, even though it has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

The pact⁴ still needs to get the final approval of the U.S. Congress. Before that happens, India has to conclude an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and obtain a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Supplier Group, which regulates global civilian nuclear trade.

Boucher says all these steps need to be completed quickly so that the pact can be presented to the U.S. Congress by July, ahead of the American presidential elections.

"You start adding these things up and we are kind of playing on overtime⁵ right now. There is an awful lot of work to do and not a lot of time. So, I think everybody understands that reality and, as I said, as soon as the Indian government is ready to go ahead, we are too," Boucher said.

The deal has been held up by domestic politics in India. The Indian government's Communist allies strongly oppose the agreement because they feel it undermines India's sovereignty and have warned the government not to go ahead with it.

However, the government is holding talks with the IAEA and says it remains⁶ committed to sealing the nuclear agreement with Washington.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament Wednesday his government is trying to bring around its allies.

"We also continue to seek the broadest possible consensus within the country to enable the next step to be taken," Singh said. I believe such cooperation is good for us, for our energy security and for the world.

But it remains unclear how Prime Minister Singh will overcome opposition⁷ from his Communist allies, who have repeatedly threatened to withdraw support for the government if it goes ahead with the nuclear deal.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

3 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。

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。