VOA标准英语2008年-Republican VP Candidate Palin Defends Her Exper

Republican vice¹ presidential candidate Sarah Palin has defended her experience and taken a tough stance on national security issues in a much-anticipated interview. The Alaskan governor was a virtual unknown on the national stage when picked by Republican presidential nominee² John McCain in late August, and his campaign has sheltered her from reporters' and voters' questions - until now. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.
　
Sarah Palin (l) being interviewed by Charles Gibson of ABC News in Fairbanks, Alaska, 11 Sep 2008

Governor Sarah Palin has served just two years as Alaska's governor and obtained her first passport to travel to visit U.S. troops in Kuwait and Germany last year. But she told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an exclusive interview that she did not hesitate for a moment when Senator McCain asked her to serve as his running mate.

"I answered [McCain] 'yes,' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink," Palin said.

The interview focused on national security.

Palin called Russia's invasion of neighboring Georgia "unprovoked" and "unacceptable." Asked if the United States would have to go to war with Russia if Russia invaded Georgia again, Palin had this response.

"Perhaps so," she said. "I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help."

Palin said she favors the former Soviet³ republics of Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO.

ABC News Anchor Gibson also asked Palin several times whether or not U.S. forces have the right to make cross-border attacks into Pakistan with or without the approval of the Pakistani government. Palin responded, several times, with a more general statement, and declined to give a "yes" or "no" answer.

"In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists, who would seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes, and we must not blink," said Palin.

Her running mate, Senator McCain, has criticized Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, for advocating U.S. cross-border strikes into Pakistan, with or without government consent, if valuable terrorist targets are found.

Part of the interview was aired on September 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and the day that Palin, the mother of five, attended a deployment⁴ ceremony for her oldest son. He is an Army infantryman whose unit is being shipped off to the war in Iraq later this month.

Opinion polls show that adding Palin to the ticket has given McCain's campaign a big boost. Palin has attained⁵ an instant "celebrity⁶ status", similar to the popularity of Obama. She has been appearing on the campaign trail with McCain this week, drawing much larger crowds than he drew on his own.

Palin's interview with ABC is the only one the McCain campaign has scheduled so far.

 

1 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。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

6 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。