VOA标准英语2013--US Officials Defend Surveillance of Allies

 

US Officials Defend Surveillance of Allies

The National Security Agency [NSA] is at the heart of allegations by the former contractor¹ Edward Snowden that the United States has targeted some of its allies for surveillance.  

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reports the NSA eavesdropped² on European Union offices in Washington, New York and Brussels, and that it has intercepted³ some half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany alone.  

James Bamford has written several book on the NSA. He explains why Germany was a target.

“The interest in Germany would be economic, since it is the economic powerhouse in Europe, and political, because whatever happens in Europe pretty much goes through Germany at one point or another, it is being discussed in Germany,” said Bamford.

Bamford also pointed⁴ out that two of the September 11 hijackers studied in Hamburg, Germany.  

German officials have expressed outrage⁵ at the revelations. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

''We are countries which are friends. There cannot be any justification⁶ with security aspects. At this point, clarification is urgently needed," he said.

During his recent visit to Tanzania, Obama said that European and Asian intelligence services are also trying to pry⁷ information from sources that are not open.

"I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders," said Obama.

Former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden told the CBS program Face the Nation that Snowden's disclosures will hurt U.S. intelligence sharing with its allies.

“Look, we cooperate with a lot of governments around the world. They expect us to be discrete⁸ about that cooperation. I cannot imagine a government anywhere on the planet who now believes we can keep a secret,” he said.

NSA’s access and technical capabilities⁹, however, dwarf¹⁰ those of other countries, said author Bamford.

“The United States has the equivalent of a nuclear weapon in terms of eavesdropping¹¹. I mean we are armed with nuclear eavesdropping capabilities, basically, compared with the rest of the world."

Some European experts say Obama will have to do more than deliver speeches to calm the furor¹² over privacy rights, especially as negotiations¹³ are set to start next week on a major new free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. 

1 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

2 eavesdropped   

偷听（别人的谈话）( eavesdrop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He eavesdropped on our conversation. 他偷听了我们的谈话。
• He has just eavesdropped two sweethearts. 他刚刚偷听了两个情人的谈话。

3 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

4 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。

5 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

6 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

7 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

8 discrete   

adj.个别的，分离的，不连续的

参考例句：

• The picture consists of a lot of discrete spots of colour.这幅画由许多不相连的色点组成。
• Most staple fibers are discrete,individual entities.大多数短纤维是不联系的单独实体。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

11 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

12 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

13 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。