VOA标准英语2008年-Chavez Seeks Arms and Energy Deal with Moscow

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in Moscow on a two-day trip pursuing arms and energy deals with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports that U.S. interests may be affected¹ by closer ties between Moscow and Caracas.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev welcomed his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez with warm words about trade and cultural ties, saying bilateral² cooperation between their two countries helps Caracas maintain regional stability.

Mr. Medvedev says in recent times contacts between Russian and Venezuela have become very stable and dynamic. The Kremlin leader says expanded trade, as well as improved humanitarian³ and cultural relations are among the signs of improved ties between the two countries.

Mr. Chavez said upon arrival in the Russian capital that a strategic energy and arms alliance between Moscow and Caracas will guarantee the sovereignty of Venezuela, which he claims is threatened by the United States.

The Venezuelan leader is expected to sign a number of arms contracts for the purchase of weapons that include Russian tanks and submarines.

In remarks to VOA, independent Russian political observer Alexander Konovalov said the quantities and types of arms that Mr. Chavez is seeking could help destabilize parts of Latin America.

Konovalov notes that leaders of Colombia, for example, who are not favorably inclined toward the Chavez regime and vice⁴ versa, are likely to wonder why Venezuela is buying 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles. The analyst⁵ also questions why Caracas is acquiring three diesel⁶ submarines and who Mr. Chavez would want to sink, adding that continued enthusiasm for submarine purchases will quickly waste Venezuela's oil profits and economic potential.

Venezuela and Russia are both oil exporters. Konovalov says an agreement to help Caracas develop its oil fields will help Russia.

The analyst says there is no doubt a deal with Mr. Chavez will bring economic and political benefits, because Russians will break into a new market and assume an important position right under the nose of the United States. Konovalov says any serious businessperson dreams of capturing a market that was long considered the U.S. backyard. Now, he adds, they can not only dream, but can actually enter that market.

Hugo Chavez also passed along greetings to Mr. Medvedev from former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

On Monday, the Izvestia newspaper reported that Russia may resume flights of long-distance air force bombers⁷ to Cuba in response to U.S. plans to build a missile defense⁸ system in Central Europe.

But Alexander Konovalov dismisses the report as unrealistic, noting that Cuba does not have facilities to fuel Russian bombers, the planes themselves are old, and the fleet is small. He notes that the civilian⁹ version of one of the bombers mentioned, the propeller¹⁰ driven TU-95, was used to by former Soviet¹¹ Communist Party leader Nikita Khrushchev to fly to Cuba in the early 1960s.

 

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 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。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 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。

10 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。