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VOA标准英语2012--Iran Nuclear Program is Major Talking Point in US Election

时间:2012-10-30 08:58:31

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Iran Nuclear Program is Major Talking Point in US Election

Former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt1 Romney, does not believe President Obama has done enough to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

“I think from the very beginning, one of the challenges we’ve had with Iran is that they have looked at this administration and felt that the administration was not as strong as it needed to be. I think they saw weakness where they had expected to find American strength," he said.

During the third and last debate, President Obama defended his performance.

“As long as I am the President of the United States, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. I made that clear when I came into office. We then organized the strongest coalition2 and the strongest sanctions against Iran in history, and it is crippling their economy. Their currency has dropped 80 percent. Their oil production has plunged3 to the lowest level since they were fighting a war with Iraq 20 years ago. So their economy is in shambles," he said. 

Obama’s challenger believes there is more the U.S. should do.

“I’d take on diplomatic isolation4 efforts. I’d make sure that Ahmadinejad is indicted6 under the genocide convention. His words amount to genocide in citation7. I would indict5 him for it. I would also make sure that their diplomats8 are treated like the pariah9 they are around the world," said Romney. 

Governor Romney is referring to the remarks of Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for the destruction of Israel.

Both candidates believe that Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to U.S. national interests. Ari Ratner, a Principal at the Truman Project on National Security, says, by nature, American foreign policy is bipartisan, and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is a clear example.

“American National interests don’t change so much from one administration to another. A lot of this (Romney's critique of Obama) is bluster10, desire to look tough," he said. 

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and has no military component11. But Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, says the agency needs clarifications in 12 areas before it can confirm Iran’s claim. 

While the American candidates spar over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is losing patience with Washington’s approach.

“These sanctions are hitting the Iran economy hard, they haven’t yet rolled back the Iranian ((nuclear)) program. We’ll know that they are achieving their goal when the centrifuges stop spinning and when the Iranian nuclear program is rolled back," he said. 

The United States and its allies have rejected Netanyahu’s demand to set a red line for Iran’s nuclear program. But, at the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu did just that and has said his next course of action will be military strike against Iranian nuclear sites and facilities.

Iran has threatened to retaliate12 against any country’s attack. Mitt Romney is critical of the Obama administration for not clearly saying that Washington would back Israel if it was attacked. 

But President Obama has made it clear that the U.S. will not abandon its long-time ally. "I will stand with Israel if they are attacked. And this is the reason why, working with Israel, we have created the strongest military and intelligence cooperation between our two countries in history," he said. 

Speaking to the General Assembly last month, Obama told the world’s leaders that he remains13 committed to diplomatic, economic and political tools, but would explore what he called the full range of options if Tehran does not bend. 


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1 mitt Znszwo     
n.棒球手套,拳击手套,无指手套;vt.铐住,握手
参考例句:
  • I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日,我送给他一只棒球手套。
  • Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。
2 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
3 plunged 06a599a54b33c9d941718dccc7739582     
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
参考例句:
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
4 isolation 7qMzTS     
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。
5 indict 0bEzv     
v.起诉,控告,指控
参考例句:
  • You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
  • I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。
6 indicted 4fe8f0223a4e14ee670547b1a8076e20     
控告,起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
  • He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。
7 citation 1qyzo     
n.引用,引证,引用文;传票
参考例句:
  • He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
  • The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票,对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。
8 diplomats ccde388e31f0f3bd6f4704d76a1c3319     
n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 );有手腕的人,善于交际的人
参考例句:
  • These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
  • The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 pariah tSUzv     
n.被社会抛弃者
参考例句:
  • Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿,汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
  • His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。
10 bluster mRDy4     
v.猛刮;怒冲冲的说;n.吓唬,怒号;狂风声
参考例句:
  • We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
  • He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵,可是不久就不做声了。
11 component epSzv     
n.组成部分,成分,元件;adj.组成的,合成的
参考例句:
  • Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
  • Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
12 retaliate FBtzJ     
v.报复,反击
参考例句:
  • He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
  • It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。
13 remains 1kMzTy     
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。

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