VOA标准英语2009年-Pentagon Sees No Particular Indication Nor

The top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, says he has seen no indication that North Korea will conduct a missile test this weekend, to coincide with the U.S. Independence Day celebration.
　
Adm. Mike Mullen (file photo)

North Korea has marked American holidays in the past with a nuclear test and missile launches, and it has indicated it will conduct another long-range missile test soon.

But on his flight home from a trip to Europe, Admiral Mullen told reporters North Korean leader Kim Jung Il has given no particular signal that he will order the test this weekend.

"No indication, but he did not give us any indication before either," he said. "So, I think North Korea is fairly unpredictable in that regard. What I would hope is that the international community stays strong on these sanctions and that somehow a message gets to the leadership of North Korea that there has got to be a better path here."

The U.N. Security Council passed its strongest resolution yet against North Korea two weeks ago, condemning¹ its nuclear test in May and ordering it to abandon its missile program. The resolution also authorized² the inspection³ of ships suspected of carrying nuclear or missile supplies to or from North Korea.

The United States has put its missile defense⁴ system on alert, but Admiral Mullen says he has seen no sign in the past few days of any significant change in North Korean preparations for a launch.

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

4 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。