VOA标准英语2011--Former US Diplomat Criticizes Japan's Nu

Former US Diplomat¹ Criticizes Japan's Nuclear Response

外交官批评日本核事故后反应
A former high-level U.S. diplomat, who was posted in Japan for many years, is speaking out about Tokyo's initial response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
He is also revealing the level of concern that was expressed behind closed doors in Washington at that time.
After a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and historic tsunami² battered³ northeastern Japan on March 11 a veteran U.S. diplomat, who had just been removed from the top post on the island of Okinawa, was among those put in charge of a crisis task force in Washington.
3月11日，9.0级大地震和历史性的海啸袭击日本东北部之后，刚刚退下冲绳岛最高职位的美国退休外交官负责华盛顿的一个危机调查任务小组。
Kevin Maher says American decision-makers quickly realized there was little reliable data coming from their Japanese counterparts about the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant.
Kevin Maher表示，美国政策制定者立即意识到，日本官员公布的关于福岛第一核电站的数据没有任何可信性。
"There was a point where we told the Japanese government, 'Look you guys got to take this seriously. This is a real serious situation. The government needs to respond to this.' And, I think the [Japanese] government eventually came to that conclusion, itself," he said.
“我们曾经告诉日本政府，‘你们必须认真严肃地对待的该事故。现在的形势已经非常危急。政府需要对此作出反应。’我认为，日本政府最终自己也得出了该结论。”
Maher says that was based on flights over the crippled nuclear plant by a U.S. Air Force (RQ-4) Global Hawk⁴ remotely piloted plane. The unmanned aircraft took photographs and could roughly gauge⁵ temperatures inside the damaged reactor⁶ and spent fuel buildings.
Maher说，他们通过美国空军RQ-4 Global Hawk(全球之鷹)远程驾驶飞机在受损的核电站上空了解情况。这架无人驾驶飞机进行拍照，可以粗略测量受损的反应堆和耗尽的燃料建筑内的温度。
"And when you looked at the information we did have, it was very clear to me early on that there had probably been at least one, probably two meltdowns," Maher stated.
“你可以看一下我们得到的信息，很明显，很早的时候就已经有至少一座，可能两座反应堆融化。”
Maher recalls that prompted the U.S. government to explore scenarios⁷ for evacuations, including transporting 100,000 American citizens from the Tokyo metropolitan⁸ area.
Maher回忆说，这些数据促使美国政府开始策划疏散方案，包括从东京市区撤出100,000名美国公民。
That did not happen. Instead the State Department advised U.S. citizens to keep 80 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant. Plume⁹ projections¹⁰ modeled by U.S. agencies did not show significant levels of radiation would envelope the capital. But a voluntary departure plan for U.S. government employee families in Japan was also implemented¹¹.
这种情况确实发生了。国务院建议美国公民与福岛核电站保持至少80千米的距离。美国机构制定的模型显示，不会有高水平的辐射笼罩整个首都。但是美国政府驻日本雇员家属已经开始自愿离开。
Maher blamed Japan's confusing and belated response to the crisis on the government’s traditional consensus¹² decision-making process. He says crucial information was not being shared among relevant Japanese government ministries¹³ and agencies.
Maher谴责日本坚持传统的决策制定程序，对危机作出的反应非常混乱，而且延迟了很久。他说，直到现在，日本相关政府部门和机构的信息还没有共享。
Maher, who is fluent in Japanese and has spent 19 years living in Japan, is known for being outspoken¹⁴, not a typical trait for diplomats¹⁵.
Maher可以说非常流利的日语，他已经在日本居住了19年的时间。他非常直言不讳，这并不是外交官的典型特征。
Maher had been ousted¹⁶ from his post as Director of the Office of Japan Affairs of March 10, the day before the disaster struck.
3月10日，灾难发生的前一天，Maher被免除日本事务办公室主任一职。
Maher retired¹⁷ from diplomatic service in April after allegations that he made offensive comments about Okinawans during an off-the-record State Department briefing last December for students from American University in Washington.
四月份，有人指控去年12月份，在国务院向美国的大学的学生做简报期间，他发表了对冲绳岛的不敬言论，后来Maher从外交部门辞职。
The comments, based on a student memo¹⁸ composed in mid-February, were first revealed by the Kyodo news agency.
这些评论基于2月份中旬的一份学生备忘录，首先由日本共同新闻社披露。
Maher denied saying Okinawans were "lazy" or "masters of manipulation and extortion." He called the newspaper story fraudulent and says he was misquoted by students who had links to anti-base activists¹⁹. He says the Kyodo reporter was more interested in pursuing a political agenda than accurately²⁰ reflecting his comments.
Maher否认自己曾经说过冲绳人很懒惰，擅长操纵和勒索。他说，该报纸的报道是虚假的，他被那些学生断章取义。他说，与准确地反映他的评论相比，共同新闻社对追求政治目的更感兴趣。
The former diplomat says the U.S. ambassador in Japan and State Department officials denied him a chance to rebut²¹ the remarks because they did not want the issue to escalate²² at a time of sensitive discussions about the future of American military bases on Okinawa.
这位前外交官表示，美国驻日本大使馆和国务院官员拒绝给他机会来澄清他的讲话，因为他们不想将问题闹大，当时正在讨论美国驻冲绳岛海军基地的未来，是非常敏感的时期。
A book that Maher, now a consultant²³, wrote in Japanese, "The Japan That Can't Decide" was released here Thursday.
Maher现在担任顾问。他在日本的时候写的一本书《日本不能果断决定》在周四出版。

1 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。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

4 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

9 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

10 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

11 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

12 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

13 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

14 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

15 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

17 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

18 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

19 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》

20 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

21 rebut   

v.辩驳，驳回

参考例句：

• He attempted to rebut the assertions made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳控方证人所作的断言。
• This open letter is to rebut the argument of abstractionism.这封公开信是反驳抽象派论点的。

22 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

23 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。