布什会见三国首相讲话(2008-03-20)

President Bush Meets with Prime Ministers of the Bahamas, Barbados and Belize

　　PRESIDENT BUSH: Secretary Rice and I have had the pleasure of welcoming three of our neighbors -- neighborhood's strong leaders: the Prime Ministers of the Bahamas, Barbados and Belize.
　　And we had a discussion like you would expect neighbors to have -- how do we work together for our mutual¹ benefit. We talked about trade and tourism. We talked about how to make sure that our security needs are met without interrupting the ability for our people to travel as freely as possible and for the ability of people to be able to make a good living as a result of tourism.
　　We talked about the region. I assured the leaders that the neighborhood is important to the United States of America. We oftentimes talk about dealing² with the Middle East or dealing on the continent of Africa. But it was important for these leaders to know that we believe that a good, strong, healthy, vibrant³ neighborhood is in the interests of the United States. And so we had a good, friendly, important discussion, and I can't thank the leaders enough for coming. I appreciate very much you being here -- two of whom have just recently won elections -- good, fair, clean elections.
　　And I reminded them that there's no stronger advocate for democracy than my administration and I admire the fact that you agreed to run, had the courage of your convictions and took your message to the people. And then, of course, there's the old senior man here who's been around quite a while. (Laughter.) You've seen a lot come and go and, so, Mr. Prime Minister, why don't you say a few remarks, if you don't mind.
　　PRIME MINISTER INGRAHAM: Thank you, Mr. President. We've had a wonderful session this morning. We're very pleased and grateful that the U.S. President invited us to come. We have discussed with him a number of issues of relevance⁴ and concern to ourselves, including a desire on our part to have the Caribbean Basin Initiative Act extended -- expires in September of this year. And we talked about tourism, the impact that the current increase in the price of oil is having on travel. We talked about security and democracy.
　　And my two colleagues, who are recent Prime Ministers, David Thompson of Barbados and Dean Barrow of Belize, were able to engage in a full, frank discussion. And as for myself, this is my fourth time to have been so fortunate to have been to this place. Thank you, Mr. President.
　　PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, sir. Thank you all very much.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

4 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。