VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Faces Tough Issues on First Overseas

White House officials say U.S. President Barack Obama is going to Europe this week to consult and to listen. Although he is popular with the European public, Mr. Obama likely will face some tough talk from their leaders.
　
President Barack Obama during a White House press conference, 24 Mar¹ 2009

As Barack Obama prepares for his first overseas trip as president, differences between the United States and Europe on major issues are coming to the fore².

The global economy and Afghanistan are likely to dominate most of his discussions abroad. And while there is an international consensus³ that both issues need to be addressed, there is a wide range of views on how best to proceed.

In London, Mr. Obama will represent the United States for the first time on the world stage when he sits down with the heads of 20 of the biggest leading and emerging economies - the G-20.

Some countries have blamed the deregulation of financial markets in the United States for sparking the global economic crisis. And many with strapped⁴ budgets have little interest in the massive government spending Mr. Obama supports as economic stimulus⁵.

Top White House officials insist that the president has no desire to dictate⁶ spending targets to other nations.

"There isn't any single number that is sacrosanct," said Michael Froman.

Michael Froman is the president's Deputy National Security Advisor⁷ for International Economic Affairs.

"I think the important thing is that there is broad agreement that was reflected in the finance ministers' statement of a couple of weeks ago to do whatever is necessary to restore growth," he said.

While in London, President Obama will meet for the first time on a one-on-one basis with the leaders of China, Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and India.

The day after their summit ends, Mr. Obama will join other NATO members near the French-German border to mark the 60th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

He will go before the NATO summit with a new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS television's Face the Nation program, the president said the stakes are high.

"We have seen deterioration⁸ over the last several years and unless we get a handle on it now, we are going to be in trouble," said President Obama.

But while President Obama is very popular in Europe, the prospect⁹ of sending more NATO troops to Afghanistan is not.

U.S. Defense¹⁰ Secretary Robert Gates says he has not given up on deploying¹¹ more allied¹² combat forces, saying that some NATO members may be willing to send troops to help in the run-up to national elections in August.

But during an appearance on the Fox News Sunday television program, Gates stressed that more civilian¹³ help is also needed.

"I think what we are really interested in for the longer term from our partners and our allies is helping¹⁴ us with this civilian surge in terms of experts in agriculture and finance and government and so on to help us improve the situation inside Afghanistan," said Robert Gates.

After the NATO summit, President Obama will travel to the Czech Republic, where he will deliver a speech on weapons proliferation and hold talks on U.S. ties with the European Union.

His last stop will be Turkey - the first Muslim country to welcome the new U.S. president.

There was speculation¹⁵ he might deliver a speech on U.S. relations with the Muslim world while in Istanbul. Instead, President Obama will launch a dialogue with young people in the region. Aides say he will take part in a question and answer session conducted, in part, on the Internet.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

12 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。