美国国家公共电台 NPR--In his 1st White House visit, Rishi Sunak talks Ukraine, AI — and how to say his name

In his 1st White House visit, Rishi Sunak talks Ukraine, AI — and how to say his name

Transcript¹

President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are due to meet Thursday at the White House, where they'll likely focus on the war in Ukraine and NATO.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

First there was Boris Johnson and Brexit, then lots of political turmoil². But Britain is back - at least that is the message U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be trying to convey when he meets President Biden today. They've met several times, but this is Sunak's first trip to the White House. NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from London.

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE³: When Rishi Sunak became U.K. prime minister last year, it was right around the Indian holiday of Diwali. And Sunak is the first U.K. prime minister of Indian descent. So President Biden gave him a shout out at the White House Diwali party.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Rishi...

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Rishi Sunak is now the Prime minister.

FRAYER: But he slaughtered⁴ his name. Then when Biden did back-to-back phone calls with NATO allies months later...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: German Chancellor⁵ Scholz, French President Macron, Prime Minister Sunak.

FRAYER: ...He did it again, so did his press secretary.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: President Biden looks forward to speaking with Minister Sunak.

FRAYER: Which left some here in London with the impression the Biden administration hadn't learned who the U.K. prime minister is. When Biden came to the region in April for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace accords, it was an opportunity to make amends⁶. But he spent four days in Ireland and only a half-day on the U.K. side. Biden later told a fundraiser in New York that he only went to, quote, "make sure the Brits didn't screw around."

KARIN VON HIPPEL: I don't think any of it was a snub. I think Biden does speak, you know, off the cuff⁷. We know he cares about Ireland, but he also really cares about the United Kingdom.

FRAYER: Karin von Hippel is a former U.S. official who runs a think tank in London. She says Biden actually really values the so-called special relationship with the U.K.

VON HIPPEL: President Biden is the old-fashioned Atlanticist American president. He cares a lot about partnerships⁸ and alliances.

FRAYER: Alliances like NATO, key to U.S. and U.K. security, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kim Darroch, a former U.K. ambassador to Washington, says today's talks will focus on Ukraine, where the U.K. is still very much a player.

KIM DARROCH: There has been an unusual level of political turbulence⁹. Sunak, though, will want to get the impression across that stability has been restored. As for Britain's place in the world, we're the second biggest contributor in terms of military assistance to Ukraine. We are the second largest contributor to NATO. There's no question, I think, that we can still bring something to the table.

FRAYER: On the table is also the top job at NATO. Sunak wants Biden to back the U.K. defense¹⁰ secretary for it. He'd also love a trade deal with Washington. But there's little hope of the latter anytime soon, says political economist¹¹ Mujtaba Rahman.

MUJTABA RAHMAN: Perhaps there will be a carve-out for electric vehicles to effectively protect the U.K. car industry from the impact of subsidies¹² the U.S. is doling¹³ out. You know, can one trumpet¹⁴ that as a major policy win compared to the ambition of a few years ago? It feels a bit small.

FRAYER: A small takeaway for Sunak, whose conservative government is largely opposed to the kind of government spending that's become Biden's signature. Sunak may also pitch Biden on an artificial intelligence watchdog in London, Rahman explains.

RAHMAN: There's something of a scramble¹⁵ now by Sunak to try and forge an influential¹⁶ and important role in this very quickly emerging and maturing AI debate. I think it's going to be very hard.

FRAYER: Because the European Union is a leader on AI, and Britain is no longer part of that. So as Mr. Sunak goes to Washington, he'll be looking for any wins - a photo-op exuding¹⁷ stability, a continued role in talks on Ukraine and, hopefully, a U.S. administration that's learned how to pronounce his name.

Lauren Frayer, NPR News, London.

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 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 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。

4 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》

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

7 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

8 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

9 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

15 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

16 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

17 exuding   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的现在分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• Water-soaked exuding spots occur in the bark near the growing shoot tips. 靠近生长着的稍皮内有水浸出点，使该处膨大。 来自辞典例句
• Leaders get into everyone's skin, exuding positive energy and optimism. 深入到员工们中间，向他们传递积极的活力和乐观精神。 来自互联网