万花筒 2011-04-20&04-21 百事可乐CEO评价奥巴马

 -You think a lot about leadership. What do you think of President Obama as a leader?

 

-Hum, I think he is a remarkable¹ individual, but let me put this in context,Fareed. Just imagine that you are the CEO for company, hum? And just bear with me for a while, while I talk you through the story. Imagine you are the CEO for company and your executive team, half a few want you to succeed, half a few want you to fail. 

 

-Republicans and Democrats². 

 

-Yes. 

 

-And then imagine that your functional³ team, you can't hire them without the approval of your executive team. Right? And also imagine…

 

-Half of whom wants you to fail. 

 

-That’s exactly right. And also imagine that every word you say is debated in the public. You know, media, every minute of the day. And also remember that your board directors as a fragmented group who really can not get together to fire executive team if they don't tow your line. 

 

-The American public. 

 

-That’s exactly right.

 

-That’s the environment in which the presidency⁴ of the United States is working today. And it's not as if the president is maintaining a successful country. The president is turning around a difficult situation. So all things considered, you’d say he’s doing a pretty good job.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。