President Bush's Trip to Asia

By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: October 25, 2003

This is Steve Ember with In the News, from VOA Special English.
President Bush has returned to Washington after visits to six Asian countries. He met this week with leaders in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. They discussed ways to strengthen security and trade ties.
On Thursday, Mister Bush spoke¹ to the Australian 1)Parliament in Canberra. He defended the United States' decision to go to war in Iraq. Mister Bush praised Australian Prime Minister John Howard for sending two-thousand troops to Iraq. He also defended the continued holding of two Australians 2)captured during fighting in Afghanistan. They are held at the American prison in Guantanamo, Cuba.
Prime Minister Howard said Australia is a nation divided on the war in Iraq. In parliament this week, forty-one opposition² lawmakers signed a letter criticizing President Bush's decision to go to war. They said no clear and present danger existed.
Mister Bush traveled to Australia after a brief stop on the Indonesian island of Bali. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. Mister Bush said President Megawati Sukarnoputri has taken effective steps against 3)terrorism. He promised more than one-hundred-fifty million dollars to support education programs as part of the fight against religious 4)extremism.
Bombings on the island of Bali a year ago killed more than two-hundred people, ninety of them Australian. The Jemaah Islamiyah group in Indonesia is held responsible. That group is linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network.
Mister Bush also met with moderate Indonesian Islamic leaders to answer criticism of American foreign policy in the Middle East. They said it is directed toward Israel. Mister Bush told them it is directed toward peace. He noted³ he is the first American president to support an independent Palestinian state.
During his stop in Singapore, Mister Bush urged that country to use its financial influence to help strengthen other Asian countries. In the Philippines he promised to help the army modernize⁴. In Tokyo, Mister Bush urged Japan to halt efforts to weaken the Japanese yen⁵.
And, in Bangkok, the president attended a two-day meeting of APEC, the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation group. The United States and the twenty other APEC members agreed on ways to speed the war against terrorism.
They also called for the renewal⁶ of world trade talks that ended without agreement in Cancun, Mexico. And they agreed to work to restart talks about ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Mister Bush faced protests in several countries. There was anger about the decision to go to war in Iraq. On his way back to Washington, the president met with Pacific island leaders in Hawaii. He also raised money for his re-election campaign.
In the News, from VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) parliament [ 5pB:lEmEnt ] n.国会, 议会
2) capture [ 5kAptFE ] n.俘虏
3) terrorism [5terErIz(E)m] n.恐怖主义, 恐怖行动
4) extremism [ iks5tri:mizEm ] n.过激主义, 极端论

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

5 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。