VOA标准英语2010年-Chill Between Koreas Raises Cost of Wo

South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings' Lee Sang-ho, right, fights for the ball against China's Beijing Guoan's Wang Chang Qing during their AFC Champions League soccer match at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea, 11 May 2010

The start of soccer's World Cup is exactly a month away, and both Koreas are sending teams to South Africa to compete.  A chill in relations, and suspicions of a North Korean role in the sinking of a South Korean ship, could make football season more expensive in Pyongyang.

 Cheers resounded¹ through Seoul back in 2006, when tens of thousands gathered downtown to watch World Cup matches on giant outdoor television screens.

There was also reason to cheer north of the border that divides the Korean peninsula.  As part of a policy to improve ties with Pyongyang, the South Korean government picked up the bill for national broadcasters to relay live transmissions of the matches into the North.

Since then, North Korea has conducted two nuclear weapons tests and shot a South Korean tourist in the back.  Many here also suspect the North may have attacked a South Korean warship², the Cheonan, killing³ 46 sailors.

South Korean broadcaster SBS owns the Korean peninsula rights to broadcast the World Cup.  A senior SBS executive, Yang Chul-hoon says even before the sinking of the Cheonan, there was a decision that North Korea would not get the World Cup free this time.

He says they paid a lot of money to get these broadcast rights, and they want to get as much money as possible from the North Korean side through negotiations⁴.  He adds it is not as though they decided⁵ to stop providing it free because of the Cheonan incident alone.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak came to office in 2008 demanding that aid and investment in the North be reciprocated⁶ with progress in ending Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons programs.  That was a stark⁷ shift from the approach of his two predecessors⁸, who transferred billions of dollars in South Korean public resources to the North with few strings⁹ attached.

It is in the context of that political shift that Yang, from SBS, puts his network's decision to bargain hard with the North.

He says the current government's position is firm that there will be no unconditional¹⁰ and free support to North Korea.  At SBS, he says, they are clear on that point as well.

Local elections will be held in South Korea in a few weeks, and political analysts¹¹ say giving free football screenings to the North so soon after the Cheonan sinking could put leaders here in a bad position.  Michael Breen is a public relations consultant¹² and author on North Korea.

"Now that the North is the most likely culprit in the sinking of the ship ... there is a lot of anger," said Breen.  "And right now, very little delusion¹³ about brotherhood¹⁴ and all of that.  So, why should we give them anything - let alone, you know, a free World Cup feed.  There is just no appetite for it."

Negotiations on a deal to broadcast the World Cup into North Korea are expected to continue as late as the first week of next month.
 

1 resounded   

v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音

参考例句：

• Laughter resounded through the house. 笑声在屋里回荡。
• The echo resounded back to us. 回声传回到我们的耳中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 reciprocated   

v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• Her passion for him was not reciprocated. 她对他的热情没有得到回应。
• Their attraction to each other as friends is reciprocated. 作为朋友，他们相互吸引着对方。 来自辞典例句

7 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

8 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

10 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

13 delusion   

n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑

参考例句：

• He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症，认为自己是拿破仑。
• I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。

14 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。