VOA慢速英语2014 报道称朝鲜网络一度中断

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-23 Reports Say North Korea Hit by Internet Outage 报道称朝鲜网络一度中断

North Korea appears to be experiencing a widespread Internet outage. The cause of the outage is not clear. However, hours earlier, President Barack Obama warned that the U.S. would answer a computer attack against Sony Pictures.  U.S. investigators¹ blamed the cyberattack on North Korea.

A U.S. state department spokeswoman would not comment when asked about the outage in North Korea. However, she did say that the U.S. government was considering a number of actions. She said possible actions include some that might not be seen.

President Obama made his comments on the news network CNN. He said he does not believe the cyberattack on Sony Pictures was an act of war by North Korea. The U.S. says North Korea carried out what the president called "cyber-vandalism.”

Mr. Obama says his administration is planning a “proportionate” answer to the computer hacking². The attack led Sony to cancel a humor film about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

President Obama said the stealing and leak of Sony emails and other private information did not amount to an act of war.

"No, I don’t think it was an act of war. I think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly³, very expensive (to Sony).  We take it very seriously.  We will respond proportionately, as I said.  But, we’re going to be in an environment in this new world where so much is digitalized that both state and non-state actors are going to have the capacity to disrupt out lives in all sorts of ways.  We have to do a much better job of guarding against that."

Mr. Obama did not explain what actions the United States may take. He suggested that North Korea again could be placed on a list of states that support terrorism. The administration of former President George W. Bush had removed North Korea from that list in 2008.

Also on Sunday, Republican Party Senator John McCain, of Arizona, said the incident was more than vandalism. He called for strong action.

U.S. investigators say North Korea launched the attack.  It denies any responsibility. North Korea condemned⁴ the movie “The Interview” as an act of terrorism. North Korea said the cyber-attack may have been carried out by its supporters.  A group called “Guardians of Peace” took responsibility for the cyber-attack.

Sony was preparing to release the movie on December 25. However, the movie company decided⁵ to withdraw the film after a major group of movie theaters cancelled plans to show the film. A lawyer for Sony, David Boies, defended the filmmaking company’s decision. He it was understandable that theaters decided not to show the movie because of threats. It is estimated the movie cost Sony Pictures $40 million to make.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。