VOA标准英语2008年-UN Chief Hails Progress on North Korean Nuclear

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed North Korea's move to hand over details of its nuclear program as a "very encouraging development," and urged continued progress in the six-party talks. From U.N. headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.
　
Ban Ki-moon, 26 Jun 2008

Mr. Ban said North Korea's submission¹ of the declaration of its nuclear programs to China - as chair of the talks - and the U.S. decision to lift trade sanctions and remove Pyongyang from its list of states that sponsor terrorism are "important steps forward."

"I call on all six-party participants to take this opportunity to expedite movement towards the full implementation² of the 2005 Joint³ Statement. I strongly support their efforts towards this end," he said.

The U.N. chief spoke⁴ to reporters as he prepares to depart Friday on a two-week trip that will take him to Japan, China, his home nation of South Korea, and then back to Japan to attend the G-8 summit. But he skirted questions about whether he might add a stop in North Korea to his itinerary⁵.

Mr. Ban also repeated his concern about the runoff election scheduled to take place Friday in the African nation of Zimbabwe, where the government has used violence and intimidation⁶ against the opposition⁷ and its supporters.

"First and foremost at this time, my concern is how to ensure that this violence and intimidation stop and people are no longer intimidated⁸ and people no longer suffer from this humanitarian⁹ crisis. As I have urged that under these circumstances, where one cannot expect a credible¹⁰ and fair election, this presidential run-off election should be postponed¹¹ until such time when we can create fair and credible conditions for the election," he said.

The secretary-general said he is continuing to discuss the situation with African leaders and urged them to engage in more dialogue.

Regarding his trip to Asia, the secretary-general said the meeting of the Group of 8 this year has taken on a special urgency because of three interrelated crises.

"The first and most pressing is the global food crisis. The second is climate change, and the need to act now if we are to reach an agreement to limit greenhouse gases by the end of next year. The third is the emergency of development, especially in Africa," he said.

Mr. Ban said leadership is needed on these three fronts. He warned that the food crisis and climate change are slowing and in some cases reversing progress on development in Africa, where he hopes to cut extreme poverty and disease in half by 2015.

 

1 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

2 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

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 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 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

6 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

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。

8 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。