VOA标准英语2008年-Bush in Germany for Talks with Merkel

By Paula Wolfson
Berlin
10 June 2008

President Bush is in Germany for talks with Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel at a castle 60 kilometers from Berlin. VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson reports it will be an opportunity for Mr. Bush to further cement ties with one of his strongest allies in Western Europe.
　

US President George W. Bush (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Meseberg Palace, north of Berlin, 10 June 2008

This is the first stop on the president's farewell tour of Western Europe, following the U.S.-EU summit in Slovenia.

U.S. officials say the brief visit to Germany amounts to a celebration of the close, personal bond Mr. Bush has established with Chancellor Merkel. The White House says it is also an opportunity for the president to mark the 60th anniversary of the implementation² of the Marshall Plan and the Berlin airlift - American-led efforts to help the people of Germany after the allied³ victory in World War II.

There will be no formal events marking the anniversary duting the president's visit. But Mr. Bush and Chancellor Merkel are expected to make comments about its importance when they appear before reporters at a joint⁴ news conference.

The session with the media will follow several hours of talks that are likely to focus on areas ranging from the future of trans-Atlantic ties, to climate change, to the diplomatic effort to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, Iran was a lead item on the agenda for the final U.S.-EU summit of the Bush presidency⁵.
　

President Bush, walks to joint press conference with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barros, left, and Slovenian PM Janez Jansa, 10 Jun 2008

At a joint news conference after the talks in Slovenia, Mr. Bush brought up the importance of unified⁶ pressure on Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities.

"Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous for world peace. And so we've got to continue to work together to make it clear, abundantly clear to them, that it's their choice to make: They can either face isolation⁷ or they can have better relations with all of us if they verifiably suspend their enrichment program," he said.

The president said EU security chief Javier Solana will be traveling to Tehran soon to make sure that message gets through to Iran's leaders.

White House National Security Advisor⁸ Stephen Hadley says Solana will be carrying a "refreshed offer" from Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and the United States. Hadley does not provide details, but the statement issued at the end of the U.S.-EU summit mentions the possibility of further sanctions beyond those all ready put in place by the United Nations.

Iran says its nuclear program is designed solely⁹ to produce nuclear power. But President Bush says Tehran can not be trusted, and the same technology can be applied¹⁰ to the development of nuclear weapons.

"And if they end up with a nuclear weapon, the free world is going to say, why didn't we do something about it at the time, before they developed it? And so now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy," he said.

From Germany, Mr. Bush travels to Italy, which has expressed a willingness to join the diplomatic effort on Iran. The president will also go to France and the United Kingdom before returning to Washington next Monday.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

3 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 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。

6 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

7 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。