VOA常速英语2008年-White House: No Missile Defense Deal Expected T

By Kent Klein
Washington
05 April 2008

White House officials say they do not expect U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach an agreement this weekend on a missile defense¹ system that the U.S. wants to place in Central Europe.  VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.

The U.S. and Russian leaders are meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the U.S. missile defense plans are on the agenda.  A White House spokeswoman traveling with the President said the talks were on the right track, but more work will be needed after Sochi.

The proposed missile defense system would be placed in Poland and the Czech Republic.  The U.S. says it is intended to protect Europe from missiles that Iran is developing.  Russia strongly opposes the plan and has said it is a threat to its security. 

Mr. Bush arrived in Sochi from Croatia, where he stopped after this week's NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the President saluted² the progress Croatia has made in the past ten years, which has allowed it to receive an invitation to join NATO.

"Since they attained³ their independence, the Croatian people have shown the world the potential of human freedom," he said.  "They've overcome war and hardship to build peaceful relationships with their neighbors.  And they have built a maturing democracy on the rubble⁴ of a dictatorship.  This week NATO invited Croatia, as well as the nation of Albania, to join the NATO alliance.  These countries have made extraordinary progress on the road to freedom, prosperity and peace."

NATO leaders invited Croatia and Albania to begin talks toward alliance membership.  President Bush said he regrets that Macedonia did not get an invitation, because of a dispute with Greece over the country's name. 

Ukraine and Georgia, despite U.S. lobbying for them, also failed to win an invitation.

Here in Washington, Delaware Senator Joe Biden gave the Democrats⁵' weekly radio address.  Biden concentrated on the war in Iraq, where he says the U.S. military, despite its best efforts, is only "treading water."

"Folks, I believe the President has no strategy for success in Iraq," he said.  "I believe his plan is to muddle⁶ through and hand the problem off to his successor.  Well, our troops and their families deserve a lot better than that.  We owe them a strategy worthy⁷ of their sacrifice.  We Democrats understand that this war must end."

Biden acknowledged that violence in Iraq has decreased, but he said the government in Baghdad has made little political progress, and that there's little evidence that Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds will settle their differences peacefully any time soon.

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 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

7 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。