纯正地道美语 第120期(外教讲解):President Speech

A: Good evening, my fellow Americans. Three days from now, after a half-century of service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in a traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency¹ is vested in my successor. This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.

A: Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor² with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.

A: Our  people  expect  their  President  and  the Congress to find essential agreement on questions of great importance, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of our great nation. My own relations with Congress began on a remote and tenuous³ basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point. I then had the pleasure of building more intimate relationship with Congress during the war and immediate⁴ post-war period. Finally, we have progressed to the mutually interdependent relationship we’ve had during these past eight years
 

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。