英语名人堂：潘基文

潘基文，韩国人，名誉博士。[1]  韩国著名外交官、政治家。现任联合国秘书长。[1-5] 

2006年10月9日联合国安全理事会投票通过潘基文接替科菲·安南，成为第8位联合国秘书长，他是历史上第一位来自东亚、[6]  第二位来自亚洲的联合国秘书长。他于2007年1月1日开始正式任职。

 

Ban Ki-moon became the eighth UN General Secretary in 2006. Before then, he was a diplomat¹ in South Korea, where he served as Foreign Minister. His diplomatic service started after graduating from college. His first post was at his nation’s embassy in India. He quickly earned a reputation for his clever diplomatic skills.

 

Ban was born in a small farming village and grew up in the town of Chungju. His destiny was to become a diplomat. He was a star pupil at school and was chosen to send a message to the United Nations. In 1962, he won an essay competition. His prize was a trip to America, where he met President John F. Kennedy. He told him his ambition was to be a diplomat.

 

Ban studied International Relations and got a Master’s degree from Harvard University. He speaks English, French, German and Japanese. He has a very disciplined work ethic² and splits his schedule into five-minute blocks. The Korean press calls him the ‘slippery eel’ because of his ability to evade³ tricky⁴ questions.

 

In his time as UN boss, he has dealt with many difficult issues. He has very strong views on global warming and has tried repeatedly to persuade President Bush to cut the USA’s carbon emissions⁵. He has taken an active role in Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear intentions. Ban has also tried to negotiate a deal to solve the Darfur crisis. He seems well equipped to deal with future global problems.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

3 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。