VOA标准英语2009年-All Eyes on President Obama at UN General

By Margaret Besheer
New York
21 September 2009

The annual gathering¹ of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly debate gets underway this week in New York, with dozens of meetings and events taking place on its sidelines. This will also be Barack Obama's first visit as U.S. president to the United Nations, where he will be playing a very high-profile role.

 
President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, 21 Sep 2009
By all accounts, this week will be one of the busiest in U.N. history.

Events get underway Tuesday, when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts a summit on climate change that more than 90 presidents and prime ministers are expected to attend.

Negotiations² are underway on a global climate treaty that seeks serious carbon-emission reductions. Governments hope to have it finalized³ by December when they meet in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. But the secretary-general says he is worried that the pace of negotiations is too slow, and he is convening⁴ the summit to give them a political boost.

"We want world leaders to show they understand the gravity of climate risks, as well as the benefits of acting⁵ now," he said. "We want them to publicly commit to sealing a deal in Copenhagen. And we want them to give their negotiating teams marching orders to accelerate progress toward a fair, effective, comprehensive and scientifically ambitious global climate agreement in Copenhagen."

On Wednesday, the full 192-members of the international community will begin the 64th annual debate in the General Assembly.

President Obama will make his highly anticipated address on that first morning. His administration has actively⁶ sought to embrace multi-lateralism and improve its relationship with the U.N. as an institution. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice says the president's remarks will reflect this.

"He will then deliver his historic first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, and address his view of international cooperation in the 21st century and the need to move beyond old divisions to focus on the future," said Rice. "He will lay out a new direction that he has set for American foreign policy, and talk about our mutual⁷ responsibilities to make progress on several key priorities that will advance our common security and prosperity."

In addition to attending the opening of the climate change summit and addressing the General Assembly, President Obama will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the subject of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The United States holds the rotating presidency⁸ of the council this month and this meeting will be the first time a U.S. president has chaired a council session.

On the margins⁹ of all the official events, President Obama will have bilateral¹⁰ meetings with several other world leaders, including Japan's new prime minister, and the presidents of China and Russia.

He will also host a trilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in an effort to continue U.S. efforts to re-launch Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

While President Obama's presence has generated a lot of excitement, some other world leaders are not receiving such a warm welcome.

Controversy¹¹ has surrounded the visit of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi after he welcomed home Libyan national and convicted Lockerbie bomber¹² Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who was released early from a British prison because he is dying from cancer.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presence at the General Assembly always prompts demonstrations¹³ against his regime's human-rights abuses. This year is not likely to be any different, after disputed election results returned him to office for a second term.

Security will be extremely tight in the city with more than 120 presidents and prime ministers expected to be passing through the United Nations this week.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 convening   

召开( convene的现在分词 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 民10:7但招聚会众的时候、们要吹号、不要吹出大声。
• We warmly welcome the convening of Asia-Europe meeting in London. 热烈欢迎亚欧会议在伦敦召开。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

8 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。

9 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

10 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

12 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

13 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。