VOA标准英语2009年-Kim Jong-il Reported to Have Pancreatic Ca

A major South Korean broadcaster is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has a life-threatening form of cancer. His health has been in serious question since his apparent stroke about a year ago. The medical prognosis is a matter of utmost secrecy¹ in the North.
　
This screen grab from North Korean television shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il attending a session of the parliament in Pyongyang, 09 Apr 2009

South Korea's Unification Ministry² says it has "no information" about Monday's broadcast report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has cancer.

The South's main 24-hour cable network, YTN, has been reporting the cancer is in Kim Jong Il's pancreas. The network says 67-year-old Mr. Kim was diagnosed with the cancer at about the same time as he suffered his apparent stroke a little more than a year ago. The report cites unnamed South Korean and Chinese intelligence officials.

But there are doubts about the report.

Hah Tae-kyoung is the president of Open Radio for North Korea, a private organization that relies on secret sources in North Korea to report on conditions there.

"I don't believe it is true," said Hah.

Doctors say pancreatic cancer is virtually always fatal, and is often diagnosed in its latest stages. For that reason, Hah says he is skeptical³ about the YTN report.

"If somebody took pancreatic cancer it doesn't take more than one year for him to die... If that might be true, he [Kim] should have already died," he said.

It is widely accepted that Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke around July of last year. In video of Mr. Kim's rare media appearances, he appears gaunt and infirm. However, the North Korean government keeps secret almost all details of Mr. Kim's personal life, including his health.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, says even though he has been impaired⁴, Kim Jong Il has functioned at a higher level than pancreatic cancer might permit.

He says it would have been almost impossible Kim Jong Il to travel around and provide on the spot guidance while suffering cancer pain since last August. He points out the North Korean leader also managed to have an hour-long talk with Chinese envoy⁵ Wang Jiarui, and attended last week's memorial ceremony for his father, Kim Il Sung.

Kim Jong Il and parents are the objects of worship in North Korea's official political ideology⁶. The North's government structure revolves⁷ so completely around Kim Jong Il personally, that the country's regional neighbors view any threat to Mr. Kim's health as possibly destabilizing to the nation.

Recent reports indicate Kim Jong Il has designated his youngest son Kim Jong Un to replace him eventually, but serious questions remain about whether the younger Kim will be able to transcend⁸ competing factions⁹ in the North and hold the country together.

1 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

4 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

7 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

9 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别