2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Warns North Korea Against Missile Tests

By Leta Hong Fincher
Washington, DC
22 June 2006
 
watch North Korea Missile report

President Bush has warned North Korea against testing a long-range missile as tension continues to mount over Pyongyang's intentions. U.S. officials are considering activating¹ an unproven missile defense² system. Leta Hong Fincher has more on whether a U.S. missile interception⁴ would work.

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President Bush  
  
President Bush said Wednesday he expects North Korea to abide⁵ by international agreements it has made on missile tests. "We think it'd be in the world's interest to know what they're testing, what they intend to do on their test. It should make people nervous when non-transparent regimes, that have announced that they've got nuclear warheads, fire missiles."

Mr. Bush told a news conference at the U.S.-European Union summit in Vienna that North Korea faces further international isolation⁶ if it test fires a long-range missile.

Satellite images show that North Korea may be planning a missile launch.

If Pyongyang actually test fires a missile, U.S. officials are said to be considering shooting it down. The United States has 11 ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska and California.

But the missile defense system is not fully⁷ operational and officials say it is difficult to destroy a small missile traveling at high speed.

John Isaacs   
  
Critics say the $90-billion U.S. missile defense program is ineffective. John Isaacs is head of the Council for a Livable World, an arms control advocacy group in Washington. "With all the money spent and all the testing and all the tries, we have no idea if the system will work."

Even if the Pentagon could shoot down a North Korean missile, some nonproliferation experts argue that such a response might provoke a strong international reaction.

Robert Einhorn is an international security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He says the international community may not see this as a positive step. 

Robert Einhorn   
  
"I think world public opinion would tend to be more, or as hostile, toward the U.S. interception as toward the North Korean launch. And if we tried to intercept³ it and failed, I think that would be a major embarrassment⁸."

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency had planned a test in the Pacific Wednesday, but officials say it is unrelated to tensions with North Korea

1 activating   

活动的，活性的

参考例句：

• "I didn't say we'd got to stop activating the masses! “我并没说就此不发动！ 来自子夜部分
• Presumably both the very small size and activating influence of fluorine atoms contribute to this exception. 这大概是由于氟原子半径小和活性高这两个原因的影响，氟原子对这种例外做出了贡献。

2 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。

3 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

4 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。

5 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。