奥朗德宣誓就职 首次出访专机遭雷击

 　　Francois Hollande had quite a first day as French president: swearing in, Champs Elysees parade in torrential rain, then a lightning strike to his plane en route to meet the world's most powerful woman.

　　Hollande could already consider himself unlucky with the one-in-a-million lightning strike that delayed his visit to Berlin to see Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel and his luck with the weather did not improve as he arrived in Germany.

　　Merkel was all smiles as she greeted the new president and appeared relaxed throughout. Hollande, on his first foreign trip as France's leader, seemed stiffer and less at ease, only sometimes cracking a smile.

　　The leaders of Europe's two powerhouses engaged in a brief handshake -- gone the kisses on the cheeks Merkel had with Hollande's predecessor² Nicolas Sarkozy -- then squelched³ onto the red carpet, flanked by a military band.

　　Waving briefly⁴ to a handful of onlookers⁵ huddled⁶ under umbrellas, the two leaders stood side-by-side for the two national anthems⁷, she in her customary pose with hands clasped at her front, he almost standing⁸ to attention.

　　The journey across the Rhine was anything other than auspicious⁹, with Hollande's presidential Falcon¹⁰ forced to return to Paris "for safety reasons and as a precaution" after being hit by lightning.

　　At the highly awaited news conference, Merkel said the fact he made it to Berlin despite the unlikely event of a lightning strike was "maybe a good omen¹¹ for our co-operation."

　　They made the most of what they could agree on, but Hollande warned ominously¹² that "everything was on the table" concerning EU economic policy, ahead of a meeting of European leaders in Brussels on May 23.

　　"This meeting wasn't intended to answer all the questions that have been asked, but was mainly meant for us to get to know each other better, to establish ties, a working method, to find a solution together" to the crisis, said Hollande.

　　法国新任总统弗朗索瓦?奥朗德任职的第一天堪称非比寻常：宣誓就职；在香榭丽舍大道乘车巡游时突降暴雨；随后在飞往德国与默克尔会面途中又遭遇雷击。

　　奥朗德可能以为，遇到概率极低的雷击事件，导致他推迟了去柏林与德国总理默克尔的会晤已经实属不幸，但在他抵达柏林后，天气也没变好。

　　默克尔在迎接这位新总统时笑容满面，一直非常轻松。此次是奥朗德首次以法国总统的身份出访，他看上去比较紧张，不太轻松，只是偶尔露个笑脸。

　　欧洲两个大国的领导人先握了握手，而不是像默克尔之前会见奥朗德的前任萨科奇那样互相亲吻面颊，之后两人在军乐队的伴奏下走上红毯。

　　两位领导人朝举着伞的民众挥了挥手，之后并肩站在一起听两国的国歌演奏。默克尔习惯性地把手扣在前面，奥朗德一直肃立倾听。

　　这次横跨莱茵河的出访行程最初不太走运，奥朗德的总统专机猎鹰型座机在突遭雷击之后，“为了安全起见，同时也为了预防事故发生”被迫返回巴黎。

　　默克尔在众人期待已久的新闻发布会上表示，尽管遭遇雷击返航，但奥朗德仍飞往德国访问“是两国开展合作的好兆头”。

　　两人最大范围地达成了一致，但奥朗德提醒说，考虑到欧洲的经济政策，“所有的问题都可以公开来谈”。欧洲各国领导人将于5月23日在布鲁塞尔举行会晤。

　　奥朗德说：“这次会晤不是为了解决所提出的所有问题，主要是为了增进了解，建立联系和工作方法，一起找到应对危机的解决办法。”

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 squelched   

v.发吧唧声，发扑哧声( squelch的过去式和过去分词 )；制止；压制；遏制

参考例句：

• We squelched over the soggy ground. 我们咕唧咕唧地走过泥泞的土地。
• The mud squelched as I walked through it. 我扑哧扑哧地穿过泥泞。

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

5 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

6 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

7 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

10 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

11 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

12 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）