VOA常速英语2008年-Opponents of US-South Korea Trade Deal Mobilize

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
24 April 2008

The United States and South Korea are each gearing up for a crucial vote to ratify¹ a major trade liberalization deal. In South Korea, opponents of the pact² are trying to block a separate compromise to open up the country to American beef imports - a crucial step in getting the free trade deal passed in Washington. VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin has more.

South Korean cattle farmers and their supporters came out in force, Thursday, one day before a scheduled parliament session expected to be dominated by debate about trade with the United States.

"Stop imports of U.S. beef!" shouts the crowd of nearly 10,000 people, in a street rally near Seoul.

U.S. beef imports were banned here after a single American animal was diagnosed with the fatal nervous disorder³ known as "mad cow disease" in 2003. The fatal disease can be transmitted to humans eating meat from an infected animal.

South Korea began resuming imports of boneless U.S. beef last April, then re-imposed the complete ban after bones were found in several shipments.

Last May, the United Nations effectively backed Washington's assertions that American beef is safe. Last week, South Korea announced it would fully⁴ re-open its beef market, removing the final political obstacle to a much broader trade liberalization deal between the two countries.

The purported⁵ health threat of U.S. beef imports is a rallying cry South Korean producers invoke⁶ interchangeably with the far more imminent⁷ economic threat.

Fifty-six-year-old farmer Lee Chang-bae says the market price of cattle feed has doubled recently, and that it is getting impossible for farmers to live. He asks who will protect consumers' health, now that the import ban has been lifted.

American agriculture officials point out there have only been two documented cases of mad cow disease in U.S. cattle - neither of which made it into the food supply. American beef producers are cynical⁸ about their South Korean counterparts' emphasis on health concerns - saying it is a mask for trade protectionism.

"It's interesting to me that, when Koreans travel to America, no one thinks twice about having 'LA kalbi' or T-bone steaks. They don't think about their safety," said Tami Overby, the president and chief executive officer of the American Chamber⁹ of Commerce in Korea.

Three of South Korea's liberal parties say they will open hearings Friday aimed at delaying or even blocking U.S. beef imports. President Lee Myung-bak's conservative Grand National Party, which won a majority in recent elections, is calling for a nationally televised debate on the issue, rather than parliament hearings.

American lawmakers say failure to resume U.S. beef imports here in South Korea could seriously threaten the passage of the two-way free trade agreement signed last year. That deal, which covers everything from automobiles¹⁰ to insurance, would boost the already robust¹¹ American-South Korea trade relationship by an estimated $20 billion a year.

1 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

2 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。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。