PBS高端访谈:金正恩的最新声明是他对外交持开放态度的信号吗?

 　　Weeks of fiery¹ rhetoric² and escalating³ threats over North Korea are showing signs of cooling, at least for the day.

　　In Washington, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. is interested in dialogue.

　　And, in Pyongyang, the tone of Kim Jong-un's messages seem to maintain the same belligerent⁴ tone,

　　but reading between the lines, analysts⁵ believe his latest statements may also be trying to de-escalate tensions with the U.S.

　　Special correspondent Nick Schifrin tries to decode⁶ North Korea's propaganda.

　　In his military's strategic forces' H.Q., a commander in chief studies his options.

　　His generals reveal a plan to test-fire missiles near the enemy's strategically important base.

　　The target is on the wall, the U.S.' Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

　　The narrator promises -- quote -- "enveloping⁷ fire."

　　U.S. imperialists put the noose⁸ around their necks due to their reckless military confrontations⁹.

　　That sounds ominous¹⁰, but the sentence continues:

　　He added, he would keep an eye on the foolish and stupid conduct of the Americans.

　　The signal that he's dialing things back again.

　　For 33 years, Robert Carlin studied North Korea for the U.S. government.

　　He visited the country more than 25 times, and he says Kim might be signaling he wants a diplomatic path.

　　You can get distracted by language which really isn't important, and read right over what is significant, and how it's supposed to click together.

　　Are we in a period like that now? I hope so.

　　Often, the West focuses on North Korea's hyperbolic propaganda.

　　Videos show North Korea preparing for war, targeting the White House and being able to destroy the Capitol.

　　Propaganda aimed at children depict¹¹ kids destroying a large-nosed U.S. soldier.

　　Paintings in a Pyongyang museum depict a U.S. soldier pulling out a North Korean woman's tooth.

　　Demonizing the U.S. helps an authoritarian¹² regime rally its population. It might those seem those rallies are preparations for conflict.

　　But on the streets of Pyongyang, there is no crisis. So, despite all the rhetoric, North Korea seems not to want war.

　　They didn't go on alert. They didn't mobilize the population. There's a difference between policy and propaganda.

　　Take the July 4 launch. Kim celebrated¹³ North Korea's first ever launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

　　And in a statement, he said North Korea would put -- quote -- "neither its nukes nor its rockets on the table for negotiations¹⁴, unless hostile U.S. policy was terminated."

　　If you read that, it reads like a negative. But it's not a negative.

　　It's actually -- if you know the history of this stuff, it's actually a positive,

　　because it's the first time that Kim has publicly said, oh, incidentally, there is a possibility that these things would go on the table.

　　That offer of negotiating its rockets and nuclear program has been repeated multiple times since.

　　And it's exactly that offer that some North Korea watchers consider a ruse¹⁵.

　　The latest de-escalation, illusory as it may be, is a prelude¹⁶ to a provocation¹⁷.

　　Sung-Yoon Lee is an assistant professor at Tufts University. He says North Korea acts over the top, so when it seems to behave, it receives concessions¹⁸.

　　North Korea, in acting¹⁹ crazy, or funny, even, bizarre, I think, achieves its strategic goal of getting the U.S. to take North Korea lightly,

　　go back to damage control diplomacy²⁰, for the sake of getting North Korea out of the headlines for a few months.

　　And all along, North Korea is able to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities²¹.

　　And all along, as the U.S. has been focusing on the military aspects, Kim has advanced North Korea's economy.

　　And that has helped solidify²² his hold on power.

　　Because, if you look at the policies that he has followed since he came in, over the last six years,

　　they are not erratic²³, they are not crazy, and they are producing results.

　　On organized and controlled trips, the government shows off prosperous businesses like catfish²⁴ farms.

　　Kim Jong-un has liberalized the economy, so owners of companies like this one can control their own profits.

　　And the government also showed off a new luxury shopping and housing district.

　　North Koreans gawked at the Pyongyang's tallest buildings. A government official said this street was more powerful than 100 nuclear warheads.

　　I hadn't been there previously²⁵ for about seven years. I was flabbergasted at the change in Pyongyang, the growth, the vitality²⁶ of the city.

　　Kim's been called crazy. He is ruthless, but long-term North Korea watchers see an economy that's improved and messaging, even if exaggerated,

　　that's nuanced, which means, despite what it may seem, there is method to North Korea's madness.

　　For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Nick Schifrin. undefined

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 decode   

vt.译（码），解（码）

参考例句：

• All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.他需要做的就是将它破译然后转给他人。
• The secret documents were intercepted and decoded.机密文件遭截获并被破译。

7 enveloping   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. 那眼睛总是死死盯着你，那声音总是紧紧围着你。 来自英汉文学
• The only barrier was a mosquito net, enveloping the entire bed. 唯一的障碍是那顶蚊帐罩住整个床。 来自辞典例句

8 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

9 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

10 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

11 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

14 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。

15 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

16 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

17 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。

18 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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

22 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

23 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

24 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

25 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

26 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。