VOA标准英语2008年-McCain Visits Colombia While Obama Encourages N

Republican presidential contender John McCain spent much of Wednesday far from the U.S. campaign trail. McCain was in Colombia where he praised the government of President Alvaro Uribe for its drug interdiction¹ efforts, but also urged the government to improve its human rights record. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
　
John McCain (L) and his wife Cindy (C), are received by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (R)in Cartagena, 01 Jul 2008

Senator McCain toured a Colombian port by boat to get a first hand look at the country's efforts to cut down on drug trafficking.

McCain was interviewed in Colombia by ABC's Good Morning America.

"The continued flow of drugs from Colombia through Mexico into the United States is still one of our major challenges to all Americans," said McCain. "And the Mexican government is struggling right now with battles against drug cartels. Colombia continues to make progress, but a large percentage of the amount of cocaine² that continues to come into the United States comes from this country."

McCain will also stop in Mexico on his way back to the United States.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee³ is also emphasizing his commitment to free trade during his Latin American tour. McCain supports a pending⁴ free trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia, which has stalled in the U.S. Congress because of human rights concerns.

McCain also supports the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and has criticized Democrat⁵ Barack Obama for wanting to re-negotiate the trade pact⁶ if elected in November.
　
Senator Barack Obama campaigning in Colorado Springs, 02 Jul 2008

Obama, meanwhile, was in Colorado Wednesday speaking about the importance of volunteerism and national service.

Obama has proposed expanding government funded national service programs like Americorps inside the United States, as well as a plan to employ military veterans in the rapidly expanding field of renewable energy.

Obama also spoke⁸ about how his service programs would have an impact overseas.

"And we are going to grow our foreign service, open consulates⁹ that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps⁷ by 2011 to renew our diplomacy," said Obama. "We cannot to continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we have set. We have got to have a civilian¹⁰ national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded."

Obama's speech was the latest in a series of events this week focused on American values. Obama previously¹¹ touched on patriotism¹² and faith as he seeks to tie his campaign into some of the ideals of American citizenship¹³ in time for the July 4 Independence Holiday on Friday.

Political analysts¹⁴ say Obama has been moving steadily¹⁵ toward the middle of the political spectrum¹⁶ in recent weeks as he tries to counter Republican critics who say he is too liberal.

　

 

1 interdiction   

n.禁止；封锁

参考例句：

• the Customs Service's drug interdiction programs 海关的毒品查禁方案
• In addition to patrol duty, blastboats are dispatched for planetary defense and interdiction missions. 除了例行巡逻，炮艇还被赋予行星防御和封锁的任务。

2 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 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。

6 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 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。

9 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

13 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

16 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。