VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Wraps Up Foreign Tour in London

Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, held talks with British leaders in London on Saturday as he wound up a foreign tour that took him to Afghanistan, Iraq, other parts of the the Middle East and Europe. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from the British capital.

Barak Obama met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for nearly two hours at number 10 Downing Street and then stepped outside to talk to the press, about what he said had been a "terrific conversation."

"The prime minister's emphasis, like mine, is how we can strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship, solve problems that can't be solved by any single country individually, climate change, the issue of international terrorism, some of the issues surrounding financial markets," he said.

He also thanked Britain for its contribution in Afghanistan.

"I know the troops here in Great Britain have borne a heavy price for wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and I think the American people are grateful," said Obama.

The presidential hopeful is on the final part of the European leg of his world tour that has taken him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Germany, France and now Britain.

The low-key tone of this stop was in sharp contrast to the visit in Berlin where the Illinois senator addressed a crowd of over 200,000 enthusiastic Germans.

"People of the world, look at Berlin where a wall came down, a continent came together and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one," said the Democratic presidential candidate.

The high profile nature of Obama's world tour has led some pundits¹ to question the appropriateness of the candidate being given what amounts to a presidential welcome. After the huge turnout in Berlin on Thursday, Obama stood side by side with Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris in the kind of photo op normally reserved for a head of state.

Analysts² put the low-key nature of the London visit down to the British government's desire not to show favoritism to either of the two U.S. presidential candidates.

In London, Obama was asked whether his foreign tour might not hurt him politically back home where people are more concerned about domestic issues. He said he would not be surprised if his opinion poll ratings dropped somewhat since he's been out of the country. But, he said, the visit was an important one.

"I am convinced that many of the issues that we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad and unless we get a handle on Iraq and Afghanistan not only are we going to be less safe, but it's also going to be a huge drain of resources," said Obama.

On this final stop, Obama also had private talks with former British prime minister Tony Blair and had talks scheduled with David Cameron, leader of the opposition³ Conservative party.

 

1 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。