2007年VOA标准英语-Experts: Bush Latin America Trip Crucial to Imp

By Dan Robinson
Washington
02 March 2007

Experts testifying on Capitol Hill say President Bush's upcoming trip to Latin America will be crucial to efforts at improving the U.S. image with governments and people in the region. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, where a State Department official responded to lawmakers unhappy with what they see as a weak U.S. economic and diplomatic approach to the region.

The president's trip beginning next week will take him to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico.

It's seen as pivotal to combating what many experts and members of Congress see as rising anti-American sentiment in the region.

This is among the concerns voiced by expert witnesses at a hearing of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

Peter Hakim, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, says the Bush visit comes at a difficult time in which the U.S. is no longer viewed with the confidence it once was. "I have not seen in the region, and I travel there quite a bit, as much anti-U.S. sentiment across the region and it is very pervasive¹, nor have I witnessed the degree of lack of confidence in [the] U.S. government and [its] leadership," he said.

Arturo Valenzuela, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Georgetown University, and a former Latin American expert on the National Security Council, offers sees the same picture. "I have never seen a moment where there is as much of a rejection² of U.S. foreign policy and [the] posture³ of the U.S. in the world as one sees today," he said.

Valenzuela asserts that a push-back against the U.S. crosses the political spectrum⁴ driven, in his view, primarily by President Bush's handling of Iraq.

However, he believes the U.S. also needs to undertake a more strategically-focused re-assessment of policy, while paying attention to key issues such as trade and narcotics⁵.

In a letter to the president, the chairman of the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Congressman⁶ Eliot Engel, urges the president to focus more intensively on Latin America in the last two years of his presidency⁷.

Engel is concerned about reductions in development assistance, in particular with child health funding, in the president's 2008 budget. "We see the disparity in terms of income, economic disparity, where a very small percentage of people at the top are doing extremely well, are extremely wealthy and then the tremendous overwhelming amount of the population are living in absolutely unacceptable poverty. This is a powder keg and this is certainly something I think the U.S. cannot turn a blind eye to," he said.

The Bush administration defends its record, saying overall aid to Latin America increased from $862 million to $1.4 billion this year, while saying some hard decisions had to be made regarding priorities for some countries, such as Bolivia.

Thomas Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, says U.S. efforts seek to maintain consistent political and economic engagement. "The president's trip to the region gives us a great opportunity to say yet again how we have engaged in the region, underscore our commitment to the region, and to listen and hear from the region from the region would like to see from us," he said.

As for what the president can accomplish, much is likely to depend on actions he takes once he returns to Washington.

Eric Farnsworth, Vice⁸ President of the Council of the Americas, says one goal would be to increase U.S.-Brazilian cooperation on ethanol fuel technology. "U.S. energy security would be enhanced by working more collaboratively with Brazil to develop and promote ethanol resources. Of course, to be most effective, the U.S. tariff⁹ on imported ethanol has to be reduced or eliminated," he said.

Peter Hakim says Congress must do its part by approving free trade agreements that the administration negotiated with Peru, Colombia and Panama, adding that failure to do so could blunt goodwill¹⁰ the president is able to encourage. "This would signal to the rest of Latin America, again, a certain unreliability of the U.S. even on an issue that we put as a very high priority," he said.

As the president prepares for his trip, lawmakers also continue to worry about the impact of Venezuela's president Hugh Chavez' policies on U.S. efforts.

Republican Dan Burton and Democrat¹¹ Gregory Meeks voice similar are concerned the Venezuelan leader has taken advantage of a lack of U.S. engagement.

BURTON: "President Chavez has been, in my opinion, taking advantage of the poverty with the vast amounts of oil money he is getting, and he is using that money to move many of those governments down there to the left. And I think that bodes¹² very ill for the U.S. and for the region long term.

MEEKS: We can criticize Chavez all we want, but what matters most to the poorest in the region with the world's largest income inequities is who will bring their plight¹³ to light, who will help?"

Lawmakers will also be watching to see what messages President Bush brings to President Alvaro Uribe in Colombia regarding his anti-corruption and anti-rebel campaigns.

Members of Congress are also focused on what happens in Cuba in what many believe is an almost certain coming power transition from ailing¹⁴ President Fidel Castro.

1 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

2 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

5 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 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。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

10 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

11 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。

12 bodes   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• This bodes ill for the failure of the programme. 这是那项计划有凶兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This bodes him no good. 这对他是不祥之兆。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

14 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。