VOA标准英语2013--Kerry: Iran Must Comply With Nuclear Inspections

 

Kerry: Iran Must Comply With Nuclear Inspections¹

Senator Kerry enjoys broad bipartisan support. So the hearing was less about him getting the job and more about what he will do with it. He said the first priority for U.S. diplomacy² is resolving the country's domestic budget crisis.

"It is hard to tell the leadership of a number of countries that they have to deal with the IMF, balance their budget and create economic order where there is none if we do not provide it for ourselves," he said.

Senator Kerry said the United States must confront immediate³ challenges, including terrorism and the threat from Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its program is peaceful. Senator Kerry said it is easy enough to prove with inspections.

"We will do what we must do to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he said. "And I repeat here today: Our policy is not containment⁴, it is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance⁵."

After nearly 30 years in Congress, Kerry is well known in much of the world, both with longtime allies and leaders who Washington opposes. He said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has missed his chance for peaceful change.

Senator Marco Rubio said it is time to settle on a comprehensive strategy for Syria. "I think it was in our national interest to help an opposition⁶ forum⁷ organize itself," he said.

"We have been so disorganized in our involvement in Syria that now we are at a point where the opposition in Syria when they win, and they will win, are just as angry at us as they once were at Russia, China, and Iran and the other nations that stood with Assad," Rubio added.

Kerry said a precipitous collapse⁸ holds risks for Syria's neighbors, including Israel. "If you have a complete implosion⁹ of the state, nobody has clear definition of how you put those pieces back together, number one," he said. "And number two, you have a much greater risk with respect to chemical weapons."

Senator Kerry is one of America's wealthiest lawmakers and has already vowed¹⁰ to divest¹¹ extensive financial holdings in companies that could prove a conflict of interest to the nation's top diplomat¹². Brooking¹³ Institution scholar Michael O'Hanlon said his world view fits well with the president's.

"I think for the most part, Kerry and Obama are pretty well aligned¹⁴. They're both pragmatic," he said."They have some bigger, broader ambitions and they have to do with things like making headway on energy and climate change questions or relations with the Islamic world. But they're fundamentally pragmatic in knowing how hard it is to make headway on that sort of thing."

O'Hanlon expects that Senator Kerry will help President Obama in much the same way Hillary Clinton has. He said, "Hillary got along better with the Israelis than President Obama did. Same thing for John Kerry, who has a pretty good relationship with Netanyahu, among others."

"Kerry has also done OK in Afghanistan and Pakistan," O'Hanlo said. "And I think President Obama has put a lot of his resources, or the country's resources there during his tenure¹⁵, but he's had a hard time developing close personal connections with any of the leaders there. Kerry is probably a little better at that."

Senator Kerry said it is time for a new U.S. role in the world, where young people are "rebelling against years of disenfranchisement and humiliation¹⁶." 

1 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

5 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

6 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。

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 divest   

v.脱去，剥除

参考例句：

• I cannot divest myself of the idea.我无法消除那个念头。
• He attempted to divest himself of all responsibilities for the decision.他力图摆脱掉作出该项决定的一切责任。

12 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。

13 brooking   

容忍，忍受（brook的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She was brooking over whether life was worth living. 她在沉思人生是否值得活下去。
• In his talk at Washington's Brooking Brookings Institution, Summers spoke of the psychology of fear. 萨默斯在华盛顿布鲁金斯学会演讲时提到恐惧的心理学。

14 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

15 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

16 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。