vVOA标准英语2011--Relations Between Washington, Moscow Remain Good

Relations Between Washington, Moscow Remain Good

Since the end of the Soviet¹ Union 20 years ago, the United States and Russia have put many of their Cold War animosities behind them. They still have their differences, but they increasingly work together on a wide range of issues. VOA examines the current relationship between the former enemies.

The United States and Russia can still destroy each other at the push of a button and have thousands of missiles on land and at sea, armed with nuclear warheads.

But all those missiles are not pointed² at each other’s cities as they were during the Cold War.

And with U.S. President Barack Obama making better relations with Russia a cornerstone of his foreign policy, both countries have ratified³ a new (START) treaty reducing long-range nuclear weapons.

“It makes no sense to have all those warheads now, the Cold War is over," said Angela Stent, a Russia expert at Georgetown University. "So we’ve drastically cut down the number of warheads and we are going to cut them down further. So I think it was very important to accomplish that.”

Stent says Moscow and Washington also have a key agreement on Afghanistan.

“That is to say, we are transporting military transports over Russian territory, through the northern distribution network. And as the relationship with Pakistan becomes more and more difficult for the United States, this supply route is crucial for our ability to operate in Afghanistan,” she noted⁴.

Moscow has also supported stronger United Nations sanctions against Iran and has cancelled the delivery of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Tehran. In addition, the Russian government did not oppose a no-fly zone over Libya.

But Stent says the two sides still disagree on U.S. plans for a missile defense⁵ system in Europe.

“We have explained to them, our government, many, many times, this system has to do with concerns about the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons, about the North Koreans, about countries that could threaten us all," she said. "It’s not aimed at Russia.”

Next March, Russian citizens go to the polls to elect a new president to succeed Dmitry Medvedev. The odds-on favorite to win is former president and current prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

Many experts are wondering whether a Putin presidency⁶ will be different from a Medvedev administration.

“No, I don’t think so, because what has been clear is that Putin was the decisive power, all the way through. So I don’t think, I don’t think it will change much,” Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser⁷ stated.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Thomas Pickering says Russia is a country that demands attention - whoever runs it.

“I think there are things that we don’t like about Russia - there will always be. There are things that Russia doesn’t like about us. But there are a number of things that we have in common," he said. "Including the necessity for coexistence.”

Americans will also go to the polls in November 2012 to elect a president. So there is the possibility that both countries will have new leaders to begin the year 2013.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 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。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。