美国国家公共电台 NPR--Midterms went better than expected for Biden. Now he's traveling to Asia

Midterms went better than expected for Biden. Now he's traveling to Asia

Transcript¹

What do the midterm results mean for President Biden as he embarks² on one of the biggest foreign trips of his presidency³ — a trip to Asia where he'll come face to face with China's president.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

President Biden's party just endured an election, losing some ground, but gaining more support than some expected. Now he spends the weekend abroad. And he will meet the leader of a very, very different political system, China's Xi Jinping, who just installed himself for a third term. Xi eliminated the only check there was on a Chinese leader, the custom that he would eventually step aside. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordo?ez is traveling with the U.S. president. Hey there, Franco.

FRANCO ORDO?EZ, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK. So we've just had a demonstration⁵ of our system. The people have spoken. How do those results affect the president's standing⁷ abroad?

ORDO?EZ: Well, basically, the results mean he'll have a more receptive audience. Biden's going to meet with a bunch of leaders at the U.N. climate summit in Egypt and in Cambodia and, finally, in Bali with the G-20. Foreign leaders, you know, as you know, pay close attention to U.S. domestic politics. And the fact that Democrats⁸ did better than expected means that Biden won't have as many questions about whether he has the backing of the American people, especially on foreign policy matters. I spoke⁶ with Zack Cooper about this. He's a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

ZACK COOPER: I think it will give Biden a feeling that he has maybe a little bit of wind at his back. Republicans look to have a margin⁹ in the House of Representatives. But it was less of a loss than, I think, many had expected for the Democrats.

ORDO?EZ: You know, Steve, Cooper says big losses in the midterms would have raised concerns about Biden's staying power and, frankly¹⁰, whether the isolationist policies of former President Donald Trump¹¹ were coming back.

INSKEEP: So having had that result, what does Biden want to accomplish?

ORDO?EZ: You know, there are a lot of tensions over trade and national security, particularly with Xi Jinping. So when they meet, they're going to have a lot to talk about. Biden says he won't make any concessions¹² to appease¹³ Xi when he meets him on the sidelines of the G-20. But he does want to set some limits. Here's what - how he put it yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: And I told him, I'm looking for competition, not conflict. And so what I want to do with him when we talk is lay out what the - what kind of - each of our red lines are, understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of China, what I know to be the critical interests of the United States and determine whether or not they conflict with one another.

ORDO?EZ: And this includes Taiwan. Biden has said his policy hasn't changed on Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. But Biden has made a lot of statements about whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan. And he says he's having that conversation with Xi when he sees him.

INSKEEP: As Biden meets a number of world leaders, I would assume that Ukraine is going to come up.

ORDO?EZ: Ukraine will definitely come up and so will Vladimir Putin, even if he's not there. And he might not be there. Biden is going to be talking a lot about the impacts of Russia's war around the world. I spoke with Melinda Haring. She's the deputy director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. She says Putin is the elephant in the room.

MELINDA HARING: We know that the issues that the G-20 faces, the big themes of this meeting, are energy security and food security. And those issues both, of course, touch on the war in Ukraine. So even if Vladimir Putin is not there, his spirit is sort of hovering¹⁴ over the G-20.

ORDO?EZ: Now, Haring says none of the leaders really want Putin there. No one wants to take a picture with them. But at the same time, it's difficult to address big issues like food security and energy security if the most consequential¹⁵ player is not there.

INSKEEP: NPR's Franco Ordo?ez will be covering this meeting of the world's 20 largest economies. Or maybe we should say 19. Franco, thanks so much.

ORDO?EZ: Thank you, Steve.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 embarks   

乘船( embark的第三人称单数 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• Patricia is a free-spirited girl who embarks on an erotic odyssey. 翠茜亚是个任性少女、毅然踏上一次性爱之旅。
• Passenger train driver: Punctually embarks. 客车司机：准时出发。

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

14 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

15 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。