VOA标准英语2014--Obama Hopes for Boost From Meeting with Pope Francis 奥巴马总统在意大利觐见教皇弗朗西斯

 

Obama Hopes for Boost From Meeting with Pope Francis 奥巴马总统在意大利觐见教皇弗朗西斯

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is in Italy for an audience with Pope Francis and talks with Italian leaders expected to focus on Ukraine and Russia. Obama then travels to Saudi Arabia, as he rounds out his trip abroad.

Francis is a celebrity¹ these days and the president is probably eager to be seen with him, says Stephen Schneck, who directs the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at Catholic University of America in Washington.

“Everybody on the planet would like to have their picture taken next to the pope right now,” said Schneck, who helped Obama win Catholic votes in the last election. “So yes, of course, the president has more to gain.”

Both Obama and the pope have said they are very concerned about wealth inequality.  In his 20s Obama did community work in Chicago for a Catholic social justice program.

But as president, Obama has faced opposition² from some Catholics over his position on abortion³, and U.S. bishops⁴ have tried to torpedo⁵ his health reform law because it requires insurers to cover contraception for women.  While the president was in Europe, the U.S. Supreme⁶ Court began hearing a challenge to the law’s so-called contraceptive mandate⁷.

It is unlikely the president and the pope will have the kind of rapport⁸ that John Paul II had with President Ronald Reagan, bolstered⁹ by their shared anti-communism, says Schneck.

“That was an extraordinary moment, a rare crack in history where all the stars aligned,” he said.  “I do not see that happening in this case.”

After the Vatican, the president will meet King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia.

At a recent seminar in Washington, Hisham Melhem of the al-Arabiya news channel said that meeting will probably focus on the violence in Syria and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“But the president in every occasion should talk about American principles, should talk about respect for human rights, whether for religious minorities or not,” he said.

 

Christians¹⁰ have become targets in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, and Obama has been criticized for not speaking out more forcefully on their behalf.

1 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。

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 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

4 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

5 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

9 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

10 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。