奥巴马 美古关系迈入新时代

 After a tour of the old city of Havana, a ceremonial wreath-laying and warm handshakes, Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba quickly shifted to the issue that has divided the two countries for most of the last six decades — a sharp disagreement over political values.

在访问哈瓦那旧城、参加敬献花圈仪式和热烈握手之后，美国总统巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)对古巴的历史性访问很快转向在过去60年的大部分时间里导致两国分道扬镳的问题——政治价值观上的严重分歧。

Mr Obama yesterday met Cuban president Raúl Castro in Havana, the first official talks between the leaders and the culmination¹ of the announcement 15 months ago that diplomatic relations were to be restored.

奥巴马昨日会晤了古巴总统劳尔?卡斯特罗(Raúl Castro)，这是两位领导人之间的第一次正式会谈，为15个月前两国宣布即将恢复外交关系所开启的进程画上了句号。

The American president declared a “new day” in relations with Cuba and insisted that the “embargo will end”, referring to the restrictions² that still prevent some US companies from doing business with Cuba.

美国总统宣告美古关系进入了一个“新时代”，并坚称，“禁运将被解除”。他指的是那些仍然阻止一些美国公司与古巴做生意的禁令。

However, the differences over democracy and human rights also quickly rose to the surface. Asked by a member of the US press about political prisoners in Cuba, Mr Castro gave a defiant³ response.

然而，两国在民主和人权方面的分歧也迅速浮出水面。在被美国媒体的一名成员问及古巴政治犯时，卡斯特罗的回答充满挑衅意味。

“Provide me the list. What political prisoners?” MrCastro asked. “Give me a name or names or when after this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners, and if we have those political prisoners, they will be released before tonight ends.”

“把名单给我。什么政治犯？”卡斯特罗问道。“你说出一个或几个名字，或者等这个记者会结束后，你给我一份政治犯名单。如果我们关押了这些政治犯，今晚结束之前他们就会被释放。”

Mr Castro went on to defend a version of human rights that places much more emphasis on access to healthcare and education接着，卡斯特罗为更加注重医疗和教育方面权利的人权观进行了辩护。

Mr Obama, on the other hand, went out of his way to try to bridge the differences. “We had a very frank conversation around issues of democracy and human rights. Our starting point is we have two different systems, different systems of government, of economy. And we have decades of differences,” he says.

另一方面，奥巴马费尽心思力求弥合分歧。“我们围绕民主和人权问题进行了坦率的对话。我们的出发点在于，我们有着不同的制度，不同的政府制度和经济制度。我们有持续几十年的分歧，”他说。

Mr Obama’s visit comes 15 months after announcing his plan to normalise relations with Cuba following more than five decades of diplomatic estrangement⁴. The visit is part of a broader gamble by the president that direct engagement from the US can help cajole the Cuban government to open its society, politics and economy more quickly.

在访问古巴的15个月之前，奥巴马宣布了与古巴关系正常化的计划，此前美国对古巴实行了逾50年的外交疏远。这次访问是奥巴马的整体赌注之一，希望直接与古巴接触将有助于推动古巴政府更快地开放其社会、政治和经济。

“Change is going to happen [in Cuba] and I think that Raúl Castro understands that,” Mr Obama said, shortly after arriving.

“（古巴）将发生变化，我认为劳尔·卡斯特罗明白这一点，”奥巴马在抵达古巴后表示。

 

1 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

4 estrangement   

n.疏远，失和，不和

参考例句：

• a period of estrangement from his wife 他与妻子分居期间
• The quarrel led to a complete estrangement between her and her family. 这一争吵使她同家人完全疏远了。 来自《简明英汉词典》