VOA慢速英语2015 美国试图影响并改变古巴

AS IT IS 2015-04-14 US Seeks to Influence Changes in Cuba 美国试图影响并改变古巴

Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States has launched what he calls a “policy of transformation²” with Cuba. He says the government is urging Cuban leaders to make changes that will help the Cuban people.

Secretary Kerry spoke³ to reporters on Sunday, the day after President Barack Obama met with Cuban leader Raul Castro. The two leaders shook hands and spoke in Panama, where they attended the Summit of the Americas. It was the first time U.S. and Cuban leaders have met in more than 50 years.

Secretary Kerry told ABC News on Sunday that U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba have not forced the leaders of the island nation to change. The sanctions were put in place soon after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.

“(Our) belief is very powerful that, by beginning to engage, by beginning to have greater travel, greater ability to move, greater ability to visit, ideas and opportunities will grow, that the Cuban people themselves will have a greater opportunity for (freedom of) expression and for exchange of views, and that is what will promote a transformation over a period of time. But, we have to begin somewhere and the president has courageously⁴ decided⁵ to change a policy that hasn’t worked.”

Mr. Kerry told NBC News that he has spoken with Mr. Obama about whether Cuba should be removed from a U.S. list of countries that support terrorism. Cuba has demanded the removal. Mr. Kerry says he expects the president will make a decision about that in the next few days. 

A leading member of the U.S. Senate is critical of the administration’s new policy toward Cuba. New Jersey⁶ Senator Robert Menendez is also a member of President Obama’s Democratic Party.

Mr. Menendez told Fox News on Sunday that the president is giving Cuba everything it wants and has received nothing to help the Cuban people. The senator’s parents came to the United States from Cuba in 1953.

The father of Republican Senator Ted¹ Cruz was born in Cuba. Senator Cruz has also criticized the administration’s policy. In a statement, he said the president is “leaving the Cuban people imprisoned⁸ in the past.”

Mark Jones is a Latin America expert at Rice University in Texas. He says the change in U.S. policy towards Cuba will help U.S. relations with Latin American countries. He says the current policy has weakened United States influence in the area.

“It’s only held us back and made us look bad. Even among our allies in Latin America, there’s quite a bit of skepticism, if not embarrassment⁹, regarding US-Cuba policy. It’s also a smart thing to do economically in that Cuba will be a good market for U.S. exports, particularly agricultural goods eventually, and getting started on the normalization¹⁰ process is a move in the right direction.”

Ted Henken is a Cuba expert at Baruch College in New York. He notes that Raul Castro has said the Cuban government’s policies will not change. But he says the Cuban leader admitted that no one really knows what will happen in years to come.

“He did also say – interestingly and surprisingly I thought -- during the conversation he had with Barack Obama that the things we may disagree on today, the world moves very fast and we may end up agreeing on tomorrow.  I don’t think that Raul Castro has become a democrat⁷ in his last three years in office; he said he’s going to step down in 2018. But I do think that laying the groundwork now and looking towards the future is the right move, because it’s not really about Obama and it’s not really about Raul Castro, it’s about the Cuban people, and I think this policy has a much better chance of helping¹¹ them than, than our past policy.”

Mr. Henken says the U.S. Congress could cancel the economic sanctions against Cuba before Mr. Obama leaves office in early 2017. But he says that will only happen if there are enough positive developments following the announcement that the two countries will reestablish diplomatic relations. 

Words in This Story

sanctions – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country or by not allowing economic aid for that country (usually plural)

engage – v. to give serious attention to (someone or something)

an exchange of views – idiom to tell one’s beliefs, opinion or political views to others and then to hear theirs

promote – v. to help (something) happen, develop or increase

transformation – n. a complete or major change in someone’s or something’s appearance or form

courageous(ly) – adj. very brave; having or showing courage

skepticism – n. an attitude of doubting the truth of something (such as a claim or statement)

embarrassment – n. something or someone that causes a person or group to look or feel foolish

regarding – prep. (somewhat formal) relating to (something); about

in that – conjunction in the fact that; in the sense that; for the cause or reason that; because

particularly – adv. used to indicate someone or something that deserves special mention

lay the groundwork – idiom to create a foundation; to provide the basics or fundamentals

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

9 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

10 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

11 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。