VOA常速英语2013--美国领导人对伊朗谈判意见不一

 

Iran Talks Cause Rifts¹ Among US Leaders 美国领导人对伊朗谈判意见不一

WASHINGTON — Talks between world powers and Iran are scheduled to resume this week over the country’s controversial nuclear program.  As details of a preliminary agreement begin to emerge, political leaders in the United States sharply disagree on the best way to move forward. 

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, U.S. television viewers have watched massive crowds in Iran shouting “death to America.”

自1979年伊斯兰革命以来，美国电视观众们观看到伊朗大批聚集的民众高呼“美国去死吧！”

Recently tens of thousands of Iranians turned out to mark  the 34th anniversary of the seizure² of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.  That historical legacy³ still haunts many Americans.

最近成千上万伊朗人在德黑兰纪念攻占美国使馆34周年，这一历史性的遗产仍令美国人困扰不安。

Now that negotiations⁴ between Iran and world powers have resumed, some U.S. political leaders are expressing concern about potential outcomes.

如今重启伊朗与世界大国的协商，有的美国政治领袖对可能的结果表示担忧。

“The question being asked in America, 'Is no deal better than a bad deal?'  And that is why you see people on the Hill [Congress] and others saying slow down, don’t be fooled,” said Adam Ereli, a former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain.

美国驻巴林前大使艾瑞里，“我们要问美国的是，‘达不成协议比坏协议好吗？’正因为如此我们看到国会议员等人会说慢下来，不要被愚弄了。”

Negotiators are currently working on an interim⁵ agreement that would put limits on Iran’s nuclear program.

协商者目前正制定一个限制伊朗核项目的临时协议。

In return there would be some easing of severe economic sanctions currently crippling Iran’s economy.

作为交换，同时会对严重损害伊朗经济的严厉经济制裁加以放松。

Republicans in Congress accuse the Obama administration of agreeing to allow the Iranians to continue to enrich uranium, an idea they say is fatally flawed.

国会中的共和党指责奥巴马政府允许伊朗继续浓缩铀，他们称这个主意是大错特错。

“Iranians have continuously cheated time after time, overruling both our Arab allies and Israel in their views of the disastrous⁶ consequences of this agreement," said Republican Senator John McCain. "It is a bad agreement.”

共和党参议员约翰·麦凯恩，“伊朗人一次又一次地欺骗我们，他们认为该协议会有灾难性后果，就不断否决阿拉伯联盟和以色列。这个协议很糟糕。”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spent a great deal of time in the Middle East trying to reassure⁷ Israeli leaders. And Arab countries in the Persian Gulf⁸ region are also expressing concern.

美国国务卿约翰·克里与中东进行了大量磋商，试图说服以色列领导人。波斯湾的海湾地区阿拉伯国家也表示了担忧。

“We do not want to go to war with Iran," said analyst⁹ Ereli. "And the nuclear program could lead to war.  Let us be clear; everybody in the region is terrified of Iran getting a nuclear weapon.”

“我们不想与伊朗作战，核项目会导致战争的。我们明确表示，该地区的每个人都担心伊朗会获得核武器。”

And if a deal is struck, Secretary Kerry will have to sell it.

如果协议达成，国务卿克里就必须兜售它了。

“We are convinced that this will put us in a much stronger position, because it actually rolls back a danger to the Middle East, to Israel, to our friends in the region, and to ourselves,” he said.

“我们相信这将让我们处于更有利的位置，因为这事实上让危险远离了中东、以色列和我们在该地区的友邦、以及我们自己。”

Americans have already seen some thaw¹⁰ in relations.

美国人已经看到关系的某些解冻。

For the first time in more than 30 years the two presidents spoke¹¹ with each other on the phone.

30多年来两国总统首次通电话。

But President Barack Obama says the bottom line remains¹² the same.

但总统巴拉克·奥巴马说底限仍保持不变。

“So our policy is Iran cannot have nuclear weapons," he said. "And I am leaving all options on the table to make sure that we meet that goal.”

“所以我们的政策是伊朗不能有核武器，我将在谈判桌上讨论所有选择，以确保实现这个目标。”

The United States and other countries accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes. 

美国和其他国家都指责伊朗寻求核武器，而伊朗坚称其项目是为和平目的。

1 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

2 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

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 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 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。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。