VOA常速英语2008年-Ghana Hosts State Dinner for Bush

By Scott Stearns
Accra, Ghana
20 February 2008

The president and Mrs. Bush are in Ghana where they were the guests of honor at a state dinner hosted by President John Kufuor and his wife, Theresa. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

Ghanaian dancers performed at the official dinner at Accra's State Banquet Hall, which was renovated¹ for the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence last year.

Ghanaian President John Kufuor thanked President Bush for supporting conflict resolution efforts in Somalia, Chad, Kenya, and Sudan. He commended Mr. Bush for working with the heads of the world's leading industrialized nations to cancel $40 billion of debt owed by poor countries to the World Bank and the International Monetary² Fund.

President Kufuor said the American leader's decision to extend lower tariffs³ under the African Growth and Opportunity Act have helped Ghanaian businesses. He thanked Mr. Bush for issuing performance-based grants through the Millennium⁴ Challenge Corporation, which currently has a more than $500 millionr compact with Ghana to improve agricultural production.

"We note with great admiration⁵ your commitment to the respect of human rights, democracy, and good governance as well as your humanitarian⁶ support for the drive toward poverty alleviation," he said.

President Bush's father has the international airport in Houston, Texas named after him. Now George W. Bush has his own road in Accra. President Kufuor announced the renaming of one of the capital's busiest routes, which is being rebuilt as a 14-kilometer, six-lane highway. "Henceforth, it will be called the George Bush Motorway⁷," he said.

President Bush responded by joking about the traffic problems his visit here has created as security has shut down roads around his event sites. "The next time I come and ride on the George Bush Motorway, I promise that we will not shut the highway down," he said.

In his toast, President Bush called President Kufuor a close friend, saying the outgoing head of the African Union has earned the respect of leaders around the world. "We first met in 2001. We were new presidents. And here we are nearly seven years later, and we are fixing to leave office. But we both vow⁸ we will finish strong with our heads held high," he said.

President Bush finishes this trip to Africa Thursday in Liberia.

1 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

4 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

5 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 motorway   

n.高速公路，快车道

参考例句：

• Our car had a breakdown on the motorway.我们的汽车在高速公路上抛锚了。
• A maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.一个疯狂的司机以每小时110英里的速度在高速公路上逆行飙车35英里。

8 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。