VOA常速英语2008年-Bush To Meet Putin In Russia

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
27 March 2008

President Bush has accepted an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to travel to Russia for talks April 6 on missile defense¹. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the hastily arranged meeting will come at the end of a European tour that will also take Mr. Bush to Ukraine, Croatia and the NATO summit in Romania.

President Bush will confer with President Putin in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. It is likely to be their final meeting as heads of state.

With a new Russian president slated² for inauguration³ in May, and the American presidential campaign well underway, both men appear to be seeking some final breakthroughs before leaving office. And few issues have created as much tension between Washington and Moscow as missile defense.

When he announced the meeting in Sochi during a pre-trip interview with foreign reporters, Mr. Bush made clear he had been invited to the Russian resort to specifically talk about the missile defense issue. He said he knows America's European partners will breathe a sigh of relief if an agreement can be reached with Moscow. He said he is optimistic it can be done.

Recently, the president sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Moscow to discuss the missile defense dispute with their Russian counterparts. Mr. Bush also sent a letter to President Putin in which he spoke⁴ of a new strategic framework between their two countries.

The president described his talks in Sochi as a follow-up to the Rice-Gates visit. White House National Security Advisor⁵ Stephen Hadley says President Bush believes now is the time to get together with Putin and build on the momentum⁶.

"This is an opportunity for the two leaders to meet, assess what progress has been made and see whether we can come together with a framework that can, as I say, consolidate⁷ areas where we are cooperating together, maybe resolve some outstanding issues such as missile defense," he said.

Moscow is vehemently⁸ opposed to the U.S. proposed missile defense system, which would put a radar⁹ system in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland. The Russian government says the plan threatens Russian security and could lead to a new arms race. But President Bush has stressed the target is not Russia, and that the facilities are intended to protect Europe from the threat posed by rogue¹⁰ states, such as Iran.

Hadley says the administration has been looking for a way to provide Russia with concrete assurances and bring it into the process. "The president has talked about maybe the United States, Russia and Europe should work together to develop a regional architecture - equal partners, if you will, in developing that architecture - that will use resources contributed by the United States, Europe and Russia to provide against threats from the Middle East that could threaten Europe as well as Russia. That is what we would like to see occur," he said.

In addition to missile defense, President Bush also plans to discuss proliferation issues in Sochi - particularly, his concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The president did not say during the interview with foreign journalists if he expects Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev to attend the talks. Mr. Bush indicated he will be watching developments in Russia in coming months with great interest, but suggested he would withhold¹¹ judgment¹² on the new president until he has a chance to deal directly with him.

1 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。

2 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

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 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

8 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 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。

11 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。