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 　　NAIROBI—U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Kenya, amid extremely tight security, for the start of a landmark¹ two-day visit.

　　The president's plane, Air Force One, touched down in Nairobi Friday evening. Obama was greeted on the tarmac by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, then went to his hotel, where he had dinner with his Kenyan relatives, including his step-grandmother, Mama Sarah and his half-sister Auma Obama.

　　The streets of Nairobi have been painted and polished as the city has spared no expense to welcome Obama for what Kenyans have called his “homecoming.”

　　The big headline for the visit is a Global Entrepreneurship Summit — the first time it is being held in Africa. President Obama — as co-host — will address the gathering² on Saturday.

　　Kenya also has special significance for the U.S. president. His father was born and is buried in rural western Kenya and served in the government of Kenya’s first president.

　　Obama Arrives in Kenya Amid Tight Security

　　Obama last visited in 2006 as a U.S. senator, but, this is his first trip as president — and that, says Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, means a lot to his country.

　　“President Obama is not just any other American president," Ruto told VOA. "He has African roots, and more specifically Kenyan roots, and so it is significant in a very different way.”

　　Security concerns

　　While much of the visit will focus on boosting trade, the other big issue on the agenda will be security when Obama meets Kenyatta on Saturday.

　　Kenyan Foreign Secretary Amina Mohamed told VOA it is a common top concern.

　　“Our collaboration³, especially on security, is historic. It’s always been there, but of course we’ve enhanced it a lot in the last few years because of the threat — the global threat actually — that we all face,” Mohamed said.

　　Kenya has been targeted repeatedly by the Somali militant⁵ group al-Shabab. The deadliest attack took place at Garissa University College in April, when 148 people, most of them students, were slaughtered⁶ on campus.

　　Ethiopia stop

　　After two days in Kenya, Obama will become the first U.S. president to visit Ethiopia.

　　Ahead of his arrival in Africa, human rights groups urged the president to use his trip to call for fundamental human rights reforms in both countries.

　　In a letter to Obama, a group of 14 nongovernmental organizations and individual experts said the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia "face real security threats, but we are concerned by the way in which each government has responded, often with abusive security measures and increased efforts to stifle⁷ civil society and independent media.”

　　Trade with Africa

　　Late Wednesday, President Obama spoke⁸ about trade with Africa at a White House reception marking the signing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. He said despite Africa's challenges, the continent is a dynamic place with some of the fastest-growing markets in the world. He said it has the potential to be the next center of global economic opportunity.

　　He said the trade law will continue to encourage good governance, labor⁴ rights and human rights in Africa.

　　Obama last month signed a 10-year extension of the country's main trade authority with Africa — a 15-year effort that boosted U.S.-Africa trade to $73 billion last year, with U.S. exports accounting⁹ for slightly more than half of that total.

　　More than 40 sub-Saharan countries are eligible¹⁰ for trade benefits under the law, through which most imports from Africa enter the United States duty free. Two of the main beneficiaries are oil exporters Angola and Nigeria.

　　Even as U.S. trade with Africa has grown rapidly, it trails resource hungry China, now with $200 billion in annual African trade, and the 28-nation European Union with $140 billion.

　　Obama has made a concerted effort to increase U.S. ties with Africa. Last August, he staged the inaugural¹¹ U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.

　　The U.S. says the Africa trade measure supports an estimated 350,000 jobs.  As the trade extension advanced in Congress, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and National Security Advisor¹² Susan Rice said it has "provided vital economic opportunities," helping¹³ African companies become more competitive and opening the path for more investments in them.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 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。

3 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

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 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

12 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。