VOA标准英语2015--华盛顿紧盯伊朗核谈判的最后期限

Washington Watches Countdown on Iran Talks Deadline

WASHINGTON—

The coming week could determine whether years of negotiations¹ over Iran’s nuclear program bear fruit - or not. Parties to the international talks are speaking out as an end-of-month deadline nears for a framework accord, while wary² U.S. lawmakers plot Congress’s next move if a deal is reached.

Negotiations are making progress, but caution is warranted, according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

“We are not rushing," said Kerry. "This has been a two-and-a-half-year or more process, but we recognize that fundamental decisions have to be made now and they don't get any easier as time goes by. It is time to make hard decisions. We want the right deal.”

That view was echoed hours later by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

“We’ve made some very significant progress in some areas of those discussions, but there are other areas where we do not have agreement, and the time has come now for Iran, in particular, to take some very tough decisions if we are going to see progress made,” Hammond said.

But while most parties speak in generalities about the status of the talks, Iran is dealing³ in specifics. Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says international sanctions must be lifted if and when an accord is reached, and pointed⁴ to dissension in the Republican-led U.S. Congress as a stumbling block. Even so, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani characterized differences as "nothing that cannot be resolved.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker, reaffirmed his belief that Congress should weigh in on any deal that is reached.

President Barack Obama says a negotiated settlement with Iran is the best outcome, but his CIA director, John Brennan, says options will remain if no deal is struck.

Brennan warned of “tremendous costs and consequences” for Iran if it builds a nuclear weapon, adding, "There are a number of things that the United States has available to it to prevent Iran from getting a bomb.”

1 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。

2 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

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。