VOA标准英语2009年-Families Say Tearful Goodbyes as Latest Ro

By Jason Strother
Seoul
01 October 2009

 
S. Korean Kwon Dae-gi, left, bids farewell by kissing his North Korean cousin Kwon Si Jung before leaving for home during the reunion meeting at the Diamond Mountain in North Korea, 01 Oct 2009
Families from South and North Korea tearfully ended the latest round of reunions for separated relatives. It was the first time these meetings were held in two years. Jason Strother has more from Seoul.

After sad goodbyes, South Korean families returned home from North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort on Thursday.

For the past six days, several hundred relatives from both sides of the Korean peninsula met at the resort. Most had not seen each other since the Korean War erupted in 1950. 

Tens of thousands of families are divided by the border separating the two nations. There is no communication between the two countries.

Reunions have been held sporadically¹ since 2000; this latest round was the first in two years. Pyongyang had called off the gatherings² in protest to the conservative South Korean government, which was elected in 2007.
 
The reunions are emotional, as the relatives are quite elderly and may never see each other again. Observers say many South Koreans feel sympathetic for the divided families and calls for greater cooperation with North Korea tend to increase when reunions are held.
 
North Korea analyst³ Andrei Lankov at Seoul's Kookmin University says that is exactly what Pyongyang wants.
 
"It is obviously in hope to mobilize some pro-North Korean support to increase pressure over the [South Korean] government on the assumption that the government will be more willing to give more concessions⁵ to the North Koreans," Lankov said.

The resumption of the family reunions is seen by many in the South as a sign that inter-Korean relations are improving. Earlier this year, North Korea tested a nuclear device and said it would renounce⁶ the cease-fire agreement that has been in effect since 1953.
 
South Korean news media report that the impoverished⁷ North Korea has asked Seoul for fertilizer and food aid in return for holding the reunions.
 
Analyst Andrei Lankov says he expects the South to offer some sort of concession⁴.

"Dealing⁸ with North Korea is largely about giving them money and concessions," Lankov said. "We are dealing with a very brutal⁹ government, which is ready to create trouble for everybody, so it is important to give something that will at least partially¹⁰ go to the people, not the government."
 
While progress may have been made on family reunions, efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program remain deadlocked¹¹. Next week, Chinese Premier¹² Wen Jiabao will travel to Pyongyang where he is expected to urge ruler Kim Jong Il to return to multinational¹³ disarmament talks. 

1 sporadically   

adv.偶发地，零星地

参考例句：

• There are some trees sporadically around his house. 他的房子周围零星地有点树木。 来自辞典例句
• As for other aspects, we will sporadically hand out questionnaires. 在其他方面，我们会偶尔发送调查问卷。 来自互联网

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 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。

4 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

7 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

11 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

12 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

13 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。