VOA标准英语2016--专家:北约准备捍卫成员国

Experts: NATO Prepared to Defend Its Members

Recent events in Eastern Europe and rising tensions with Russia have revived the debate over NATO enlargement, which Moscow considers a provocation¹.  The question comes as NATO leaders prepare to hold a summit early next month in Warsaw, Poland. 

With Montenegro having begun the accession process to join NATO, the question over the Alliance's future enlargement is once again looming² large for countries in the Balkans and elsewhere.  

For Macedonia, at NATO's doorstep, becoming a NATO member is the only alternative - says Zoran Jolevski, the country's defense³ minister.

“The more NATO is in southeast Europe, in the Balkans, the more prosperous and stable the Balkans is,” he said. 

Beyond the enlargement issue, the deployment⁵ of NATO forces in the Baltic states, Poland and Romania will be the main focus at the upcoming Warsaw summit.  Such a deployment is significant, says executive director of the McCain Institute and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker.  

“It is a signal to anyone, including Russia, that NATO is prepared to defend its members," he said. "That is very, very important. That’s the heart of deterrence⁶ that is showing that willingness to take those steps, that’s critical…even with reducing defense budgets and reducing U.S. commitment overall, this step is very important.”

But NATO's move to station forces on its eastern flank and its membership enlargement are considered threats by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“His goal is to get NATO to back down. He wants to divide Europe, divide NATO, force NATO to back down, not protect the member states of NATO that are adjacent to Russia," Volker said. "It is very important that NATO not accept that. “  

Russia has responded to NATO’s focus on its eastern flank with a pledge to deploy⁴ three divisions – numbering some 30,000 troops – to its western and southern flanks by the end of this year.

1 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

2 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。