VOA标准英语2009年-Obama: US Determined to Act on Climate Cha

By David Gollust
New York
22 September 2009

 
President Barack Obama addresses the United Nations climate change summit at the United Nations headquarters, New York, 22 Sep 2009
President Barack Obama told a special U.N. summit on climate change the United States understands the gravity of the problem and is determined¹ to act. The U.N. meeting, which brought together about 100 world leaders, is aimed at advancing lagging negotiations² in advance of a critical conference on global warming at year's end in Copenhagen.

The summit speech was the U.S. president's first address to the world body and he used the message to reassure³ delegates that the United States, which shunned⁴ the 1997 Kyoto climate pact⁵, is determined to make the successor Copenhagen process a success.

Mr. Obama provided no new proposals. But he said the United States and other developed economies, which caused much of the damage to the world climate over the last century, have a responsibility to lead.

He said the fast-growing developing nations, which will produce almost all the growth in global carbon emissions⁶ in the decades ahead, must do their part as well.

With the world economy mired⁷ in recession, Mr. Obama said there should be no illusion that producing the sweeping⁸ changes needed for success at Copenhagen will be easy.

"But I am here today to say that difficulty is no excuse for complacency," the president said. "Unease is no excuse for inaction. And we must not allow the perfect to become the enemy of progress. Each of is must do what we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet, and we must do it together. We must seize the opportunity to make Copenhagen a significant step forward in the global fight against climate change."

 
United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon(R)addresses United Nations Climate Change Summit, 22 Sep 2009
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the meeting with an appeal to accelerate the lagging pace of pre-Copenhagen negotiations. He said that failure to reach broad agreement in the Danish capital in December would be morally inexcusable, economically-short sighted and politically unwise.

But perhaps the most forceful appeal for action came from President Mohamed Nasheed, of the Indian Ocean's Maldives islands, large parts of which are little more than a meter above sea level and which stand to be swamped by rising waters if global warming is not checked.

Mr. Nasheed said he and his countrymen are frustrated⁹ over international gatherings¹⁰ that feature verbal pledges for climate change action, but afterwards the delegates drift away, empathy for the plight¹¹ of the Maldives fades, and there is return to business-as-usual.

"If things go business-as-usual, we will not live, we will die," he said. "Our country will not exist. We cannot come out from Copenhagen as failures. We cannot make Copenhagen a pact for suicide. We have to succeed and we have to make a deal in Copenhagen."

Negotiators hope the Copenhagen meeting will produce specific limits for overall emissions by developed countries, and specific goals for cuts in the rate of growth of carbon output by the developing nations.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose country, like the United States accounts for one-fifth of all world greenhouse gas pollution, announced a set of specific emissions curbs¹².

"We will endeavor to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin¹³ by 2020 from the 2005 level," he said. "Second, we will vigorously develop renewable energy and nuclear energy. We will endeavor to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent by 2020."

New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed his campaign pledge for Japan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Environmental activists¹⁴ hope momentum¹⁵ from Tuesday's one-day climate summit will spur climate treaty negotiators who convene¹⁶ again next week in Bangkok.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 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。

3 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

4 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

12 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

16 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。