奥巴马参观罗本岛向曼德拉致敬

 　　奥巴马参观罗本岛向曼德拉致敬

       CAPE¹ TOWN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U. S. President Barack Obama on Sunday visited Robben Island off Cape Town to pay tribute to his "personal hero" -- ailing² former South African president Nelson Mandela.

　　The visit was part of Obama's three-day official trip to South Africa, his second to the country, but first as U. S. president.

　　The visit was overshadowed by the health condition of Mandela, who has been hospitalized in a Pretoria hospital for three weeks for a recurring³ lung infection.

　　Obama, accompanied by his wife Michael and two daughters, took a helicopter ride to the museum on Robben Island, where Mandela spent 18 years in a prison cell.

　　The U. S. president refrained from visiting Mandela in Pretoria, but met with Mandela's family members instead.

　　The White House said the decision was made in accordance with the wishes of Mandela's family. Obama himself said he didn't want to be "obstructive" when Mandela was critically ill in bed.

　　Mandela's condition remains⁴ critical but stable after showing improvement in the past two days, according to Zuma, who issued the latest update on Mandela's health after talks with Obama on Saturday.

　　The government hoped that Mandela, 94, would be out of hospital soon, Zuma said.

　　During his visit, Obama repeatedly lauded⁵ Mandela's contributions to South Africa and the world at large.

　　Obama said Mandela managed to transform South Africa and inspire the world.

　　"Think about 27 years in prison. Think about the hardships and struggles of being away from family and friends.

　　"Reflecting on his years in prison Nelson Mandela wrote that they were dark moments that tested his faith and humanity but he refused to give up," Obama told an audience in a televised address at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus on Saturday.

　　"We join the people of the world in sending our prayers to Madiba and his family because he still inspires us all," Obama said.

　　Obama will make his keynote speech at the University of Cape Town later Sunday.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

3 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

4 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。

5 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句