VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says US Open to 'Productive Partne

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States is open to a productive partnership¹ with Burma if the military government there ends the mistreatment of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and addresses other international concerns. She spoke² in Bangkok on the eve of joining a political dialogue with ASEAN foreign ministers.
　
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens to questions from reporters during press conference in Bangkok,21 July 2009

Clinton said the Obama administration has wide-ranging concerns about the Burma going well beyond the Aung San Suu Kyi case, including army mistreatment of women, repression³ of minorities, and possible Burmese military cooperation with North Korea.

But as she prepared to join in a dialogue Wednesday with members of ASEAN, including Burma, in the Thai resort island of Phuket, the secretary sounded a conciliatory note, saying the United States is open to a better relationship if the Burmese government deals with those concerns.

"We are willing to have a more productive partnership with Burma, if they take steps that are self-evident - end the violence against their own people, including the minorities that they have focused on the last months, end the mistreatment of Aung San Suu Kyi, end the political prisoners in detention⁴ that have been rounded up by the government, and other steps that Burma know it could take," Clinton said.
　
Burmese opposition⁵ leader Aung San Suu Kyi (file photo)

Clinton, who spoke to reporters after a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, said the Obama administration has put its review of Burmese policy "on hold", pending⁶ the outcome of the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a possible prison term for violating terms of her long-running house arrest.

Senior administration officials say Clinton has no plans to meet her Burmese counterpart in Phuket, but other members of the U.S. delegation⁷ could interact with the Burmese.

The officials said the same applies to North Korea, which is sending a senior diplomat⁸ - though not its foreign minister - to the ASEAN dialogue, where more than 20 countries will be represented.

Clinton will have separate bilateral⁹ meetings in Phuket with the foreign ministers of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia - the other parties to nuclear negotiations¹⁰ with North Korea - to discuss ways of getting Pyongyang to return to the Chinese-sponsored six-party negotiations.

She said a list of incentives¹¹ could be offered to North Korea if, and when it rejoined the talks and moved to end its nuclear program, but that there is no evidence of its willingness to do so at this time.

"We think there is a different path for North Korea to follow, that there is an opportunity which is theirs for the taking," Clinton said. "But they have to be willing to change their behavior and agree to de-nuclearize North Korea, which will mean that the entire Korean peninsula is de-nuclearized. And we stand ready to respond if we get any signal that there would be a commitment to doing that."

In her remarks after meeting the Thai prime minister, Clinton referred to the political unrest that has plagued Thailand since a military coup¹² in 2006 and disrupted an ASEAN summit earlier this year.

She said the United States is confident the Thai people can work through the challenges in a way that upholds the country's constitutional principles and democratic traditions, and that they can count on U.S. support as they "pursue reconciliation¹³ and find a path forward."

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 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。

3 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 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。

6 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

9 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。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

13 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。