2006年VOA标准英语-US Envoy to South Korea Lets Drumsticks Help wi

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
26 May 2006
 
Sometimes culture can be the best form of diplomacy¹.  Washington's Ambassador to South Korea takes that notion to heart - and never hesitates to stir up a crowd for the sake of improving relations. 

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Alexander Vershbow
(file photo)   
  

Alexander Vershbow, the bespectacled U.S. ambassador to South Korea, could be mistaken for a librarian or a museum curator on first acquaintance.

But looks can be deceiving.  Vershbow is the one providing the brassy percussion² for a live performance of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."  He says the beat has been in his blood for a long time. "I started drumming when I was 13-years-old.  After banging a lot on tables with knitting needles and chopsticks, my parents broke down and bought me some drums," he says.

Vershbow, who has been in the post since last October, can be surprisingly candid³, especially for a diplomat⁴.  He has angered some South Korean officials, who are attempting to engage in meaningful exchanges with North Korea, by openly criticizing the North - calling it, for example, a "criminal regime."  Some South Koreans have said he should be recalled.

But when he is not banging the drum for a tougher approach to Pyongyang, Vershbow can be found putting his musical talents to good use.  This week, he joined a performance in Seoul called "Parade of Nations," in which members of the diplomatic community showed off their talents in support of various South Korean charities. 

Vershbow was backing up the MOFAT band, which stands for Ministry⁵ of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  He has good things to say about the other band members, all of whom are full-time⁶ diplomats⁷, incidentally, and not government bureaucrats⁸. "Even though they're working on the free trade agreement and China policy by day, they rock and roll by night," he says.

Another of his strong points is working the crowd when he is on stage. "This song, one of my favorites, was at the direct suggestion of Vice⁹ President Dick Cheney," he says. After that name-dropping introduction, the band launched into the Beatles' classic "Back in the USSR" - with Vershbow on drums, and as lead vocal¹⁰.

 Vershbow knows what he is singing about.  Before coming to South Korea, he was U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation¹¹.  He says it was there that he discovered the potential harmony of diplomacy and rock-and-roll. "I used it on one occasion to attract attention to the problem of HIV/AIDS by playing at a disco in the Russian city of Saratov,” he says.  “It kind of dramatized the problem."

Here in South Korea, Vershbow says he and the MOFAT band are just getting started, even though the business of diplomacy may sometimes get in the way of their fun.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 percussion   

n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响

参考例句：

• In an orchestra,people who play percussion instruments sit at the back.在管弦乐队中，演奏打击乐器的人会坐在后面。
• Percussion of the abdomen is often omitted.腹部叩诊常被省略。

3 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

4 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。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。