VOA标准英语2010年-British Prime Minister Cameron Makes F

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, talks to members of the media as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, looks on during their bilateral¹ meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Toronto, (file photo - 26 June 2010)

As Prime Minister David Cameron makes his first visit to Washington as the British leader, he is expected to defend embattled oil company BP. In addition to the Gulf² oil spill, American lawmakers are displeased³ that the oil giant may have had a hand in the release of the alleged⁴ Lockerbie bomber⁵, freed last year on compassionate⁶ grounds. Mr. Cameron and President Obama are also expected to discuss Afghanistan; Mr. Cameron says he would like British troops out by 2015.

The British prime minister has much to discuss in his first official meeting with President Obama.

Dana Allin, an expert in transatlantic relations at International Institute for Strategic Studies here in London says no matter what the two men talk about, their relationship remains⁷ intact.

"I think the relationship is essentially⁸ very strong," says Allin. "The United States and the United Kingdom are treaty allies; they're fighting a war together in Afghanistan; they have deep, deep intelligence cooperation; and they see eye-to-eye on a lot of global issues."

 One awkward subject for Prime Minister Cameron will likely be British oil giant BP, and its failure to quickly stop the flow of millions of gallons of oil that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. lawmakers are also calling for an investigation⁹ into whether BP played a role in the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi. He received a hero's welcome in Libya last year. The lawmakers accuse BP of pressuring Britain to free al-Megrahi so the company could pursue an oil deal with Libya.

John Hamilton is with the trade newsletter African Energy.

"The link is evident for anybody to see, but what isn't evident - that there's really anything that BP could have done about the situation," Hamilton says. "This was an issue between the British government and the Libyan government, not an issue between BP and the British government."

Also on the agenda is Afghanistan, where Britain has 9,000 troops. Allin says the solution is complicated, but the relationship is not.

"There's no real dispute about Afghanistan; the problem in Afghanistan is no one really knows what to do," Allin adds. "Both the United States and the U.K. are seeking ways to see an end to that, to their involvement in that conflict, without abandoning the country; and they're trying to work together to do that."

Allin says Mr. Cameron is doing what he can to downplay expectations about his Washington visit.

"He's really trying to tone down the obsessive¹⁰ naval¹¹ gazing that you see about the special relationship among large parts of the British press and the British media," she says.

Despite those efforts, the British media and other analysts¹² will be watching as Mr. Cameron makes his first visit to Washington as British prime minister.

 

1 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。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 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。

6 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

11 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

12 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。