VOA标准英语2014--Rodman Visit to North Korea Sparks Strong Reactions 罗德曼访问朝鲜引起强烈反响

 

Rodman Visit to North Korea Sparks Strong Reactions 罗德曼访问朝鲜引起强烈反响

Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea, one of the most isolated¹ countries in the world, made some people cringe at the idea that former the former basketball super star would call a leader who recently killed his uncle a friend. But while critics say the trip was useless, others disagree.

"I am sorry. I am not the President. I am not an ambassador. I am Dennis Rodman," he stated. He started with an apology but soon was overwhelmed with tears about the reaction to his recent trip to North Korea.  Rodman explained all he wanted to do was “Just show the world that we can actually get along and be happy for one day,” he said.

The idea wasn't popular in the U.S. Neither was it in neighboring South Korea where social media comments about his trip were not always complimentary².. But all along, Rodman said he was not interested in politics.

Although he did sing happy birthday to North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un.

Dan Pinkston is Deputy Director for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group. He said the basketball player meant well. “Dennis Rodman is a private citizen. Sportsmen going there are demonstrating to the North Korean leadership and North Korean people that Americans and others are not evil,” he explained.

Michael O'Hanlon, at the Brookings Institution, grew up watching basketball.  He said the brouhaha around Rodman’s trip is a commotion³ over nothing. "For those of us who have watched his career, I believe he’s acting⁴ the way Dennis Rodman always does," he said.

O’Hanlon said the important thing is what the world has learned about the young North Korean leader. And it should be taken seriously. “I think we’ve learned that he’s willing to be brutal⁵, that he is his grandfather’s grandson and his father’s son. He’s acting in the Kim tradition. This is not a nice group of people," O'Hanlon noted⁶. "They have ruled over the last Stalinist regime on Earth. They are as brutal as anyone on the planet in that period of time.”

Although there was never any evidence that Kim Jong Un was going to be different, O’Hanlon said he was hoping Mr. Kim would be a reformist considering his western education. “Unfortunately this execution of his uncle, who was the closest to China as anybody in the North Korean Ruling elite⁷ as far as I understand, is probably a bad sign because that suggests that even a person who’s open to reform is not going to be tolerated,” he stated.

 

O'Hanlon said Rodman or not, sports diplomacy⁸ can't do much for a country like North Korea. But a vision of a different kind of relationship with the country, he said, is worth exploring.

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

3 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

6 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。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 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。