美国国家公共电台 NPR--A top U.S. diplomat is in Brazil as that country seeks recognition as a global player

A top U.S. diplomat¹ is in Brazil as that country seeks recognition as a global player

Transcript²

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield is in Brazil to draw attention to the strong ties the two countries share. Brazil has been flaunting³ its close relationships with Russia and China.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Biden administration official is in Brazil at a time when that country is seeking recognition as a global player. The Brazilian president just led a huge trade delegation⁴ to China, and Russia's foreign minister recently visited Brazil. Here's NPR's Michele Kelemen.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁵: The way Linda Thomas-Greenfield sees it, the U.S. and Brazil have a lot in common. They're the two largest democracies in the region.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: This is a relationship that is historical. It's broad. It's deep.

KELEMEN: The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is making a point on this trip to talk about racial justice and poverty with local students and separately with Brazil's first lady. She also met with the foreign minister, as Brazil's close ties with China hover⁶ over the visit.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: It was discussed. Again, our position is that we don't tell countries - sovereign countries - who to choose to partner with. What we're here to discuss is our partnership⁷. We have a very strong partnership with the country and with the people of Brazil.

KELEMEN: That's true, says Bill McIlhenny, who wrote about Brazil in a German Marshall Fund report about so-called global swing states. He says the U.S. does have close ties, but China is Brazil's biggest trading partner.

BILL MCILHENNY: And I think to see that, you only need to look at the large ministerial delegation that Lula took to China last month and the really needy⁸ economic and security agenda of his meetings there. So there's definitely an effort by Brazil to rebalance relations more toward Beijing.

KELEMEN: In part, that's for business reasons. But McIlhenny says President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also trying to raise his country's global profile on the world stage. And that means hedging his bets in the U.S. competition with China and also with Russia.

MCILHENNY: There's a long tradition in Brazilian foreign policy of trying to hedge and just stay out of the way of great power conflict. But in practice today, I think that is a tricky⁹ thing to pull off. And Ukraine really illustrates¹⁰ this. It's a very poignant¹¹ fault line.

KELEMEN: When Lula was in China, he echoed Russia's talking points, blaming the West for encouraging the war in Ukraine. Bruna Santos, who runs the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, says those remarks did not go over well.

BRUNA SANTOS: By attempting to, like, dismantle¹² or questioning existing powers like the United States and Europe, I think that Lula has triggered more suspicion than confidence.

KELEMEN: Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield wasn't even asked about Ukraine when she held an hour-long fireside chat with university students here in Brasilia. But she did talk about it, saying this is a conflict that should matter to every U.N. member state.

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THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Ukraine is on the front lines of fighting for all of us. They're fighting for democracy. They're fighting against a bully¹³ who thought that it was OK to invade a country, take their territory and kill their people and rape¹⁴ their women.

KELEMEN: Thomas-Greenfield later told reporters that she's encouraging Brazilian government officials to engage more with Ukraine, especially if this country wants to present itself as a peacemaker.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Brasilia.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 flaunting   

adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来

参考例句：

• He did not believe in flaunting his wealth. 他不赞成摆阔。
• She is fond of flaunting her superiority before her friends and schoolmates. 她好在朋友和同学面前逞强。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

9 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

10 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

11 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

12 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

13 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

14 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。