VOA标准英语2018--Pompeo at NATO

 

On his recent visit to NATO headquarters in Belgium, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the United States is “eager to continue to lead” the alliance.

“The United States commitment to the collective defense¹ under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty remains² ironclad,” declared Secretary Pompeo.At the same time, he urged greater burden sharing by all members, calling for an increase in defense spending by all member countries to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2024. “It's now up to each Ally to make good on that promise by presenting a credible³ plan before the summit in July,” urged Secretary Pompeo.

Russia threatens Allies and partners both militarily, as seen through its invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, through an aggressive campaign to undermine western democratic institutions, and the use of military-grade nerve agents in Britain.

As such, the United States has made clear that NATO should not return to business as usual with Russia until Moscow fulfills⁴ its commitments under the Minsk agreements, withdraws its forces and support in the Donbas, and returns control of the Crimea peninsula to Ukraine.

Fighting terrorism must be a major focus of NATO. The alliance should work with its partners in North Africa and the Middle East to address conditions and activities that enable terrorism, such as trafficking of weapons, irregular migration⁵, and regional instability.

Secretary Pompeo congratulated South Korea and North Korea on their historic meeting, and the Korean people's aspirations⁶ for peace and prosperity. “Let there be no doubt,” said Secretary Pompeo, “we would not be where we are today without President Trump's maximum pressure campaign and the work that has been done all around the world to apply pressure to North Korea.”

“Our objective remains unchanged,” declared Secretary Pompeo. “We're committed to permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling⁷ of North Koreans' weapons of mass destruction programs without delay. Until then, the global maximum pressure campaign will continue.”

“As always, the United States will continue to coordinate⁸ closely with [its] allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, on [a] unified⁹ response. North Korean promises are good,” said Secretary Pompeo, “but transparent¹⁰, verifiable action is essential.”

1 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。

2 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。

3 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

4 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

7 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

8 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

9 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

10 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。