VOA慢速英语20116--美国官员会见昂山素姬

AS IT IS 2016-09-16 U.S. Officials Meet with Aung San Suu Kyi 美国官员会见昂山素姬

Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, completed a two-day visit to Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize winner met separately with President Barack Obama and United States congressional leaders.

They spoke¹ about her country’s move towards democracy and U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar, formerly² known as Burma.

It was Aung San Suu Kyi’s first visit to the U.S. as state counselor³ and foreign minister – a position she took after her party won in elections last November. Myanmar’s constitution bars her from serving as president because her husband and children are foreigners.

[President Obama:] “So if you predicted five years ago that Aung San Suu Kyi would now be here, sitting as the duly elected representative of her country, many people would have been skeptical⁴. But it’s a good news story in an era in which so often we see countries going in the opposite direction...”

Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi met on Wednesday. He said Myanmar is experiencing a “remarkable social and political transformation⁵.”

The president expressed readiness to lift economic sanctions on the country. Those sanctions were ordered to punish the government’s failure to honor the results of the 1990 elections. Obama can cancel the measures without congressional action.

“The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business...”

Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the end of the sanctions. She said that while Myanmar has made progress in its move towards democracy, more remains⁶ to be done. She said the biggest test may be uniting the ethnic⁷ groups that are in that country.

"Unity⁸ also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing⁹ together is important."

?Members of Congress expressed mixed reaction to Obama’s plan to lift the sanctions.

“The president acted unilaterally in a way that was unfortunate,” said Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. Gardner, a Republican, chairs the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

With the lifting of sanctions and a new investment law expected in the coming weeks, Aung San Suu Kyi asked American businesses to invest in Myanmar.

“I expect you businessmen to come to our country to make profits so that they can make profits for us, as well.”

Some human rights leaders say it is too soon to lift sanctions on Myanmar. They say the government's human rights record is not good with religious minorities, mainly the Rohingyas.

The White House says Aung San Suu Kyi has made a lot of progress on human rights concerns, since her party came to power.

Words in This Story

de facto – adj. used to describe something that exists but that is not officially accepted or recognized

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, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc. — usually plural¹⁰?

skeptical – adj. having or expressing distrust about something

era – n. a period of time that is linked with a particular quality, event, person

transformation - n. a complete or major change in someone's or something's appearance, form, etc.?

prosperity – n. the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money

resources – n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

unilaterally - adj. involving only one group or country

unfortunate - adj. having bad luck

1 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。

2 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

3 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。