Officials from China, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany are due to meet next Wednesday in Shanghai to discuss a plan to restart the negotiation on Iran's nuclear issue, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced yesterday.
"Under current circumstances, relevant parties should be creative, flexible and positive in seeking a proper method that helps solve the Iran nuclear issue comprehensively and permanently," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.
Foreign ministers of the six countries released a joint declaration in early March, reasserting their will to solve the Iran nuclear issue through negotiation and agreed to map out a plan as soon as possible to restart the talks.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday Iran has begun installing 6,000 new centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant, in a new snub to the West which fears Teheran is trying to build nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad was set to deliver a speech later yesterday at a ceremony in Teheran to celebrate Iran's National Day of Nuclear Technology.
Iran's enemies, the United States and Israel, criticized the move, saying it showed Teheran's intention to further violate UN Security Council demands to halt enriching uranium, which can be used as fuel in power plants or, if refined much more, provide material for weapons.
The Security Council has since 2006 imposed three rounds of sanctions on Teheran for refusing to halt enrichment work.
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, says it wants nuclear technology to generate power to meet booming demand.
Centrifuges are machines that can spin compounds of uranium at supersonic speed to separate out and concentrate the most radioactive isotope of the element.
Questions:
1. Officials from which 6 countries will meet in Shanghai next week to discuss Iran’s nuclear sector?
2. What three character traits did Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu highlight as being essential for the progress and solution of this long running issue?
3. What special event took place yesterday in Iran and what news was broadcast by that country’s leader?
Answers:
1. China, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
2. An ability to be creative, flexible and positive.
3. It was Iran's National Day of Nuclear Technology and President Ahmadinejad said Iran has begun installing 6,000 new centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant.
(英語點津 Helen 編輯)
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.