美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Arrives In Saudi Arabia To A Warm Welcome, Despite Troubles At Home

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

President Trump¹ is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is the first stop on his first trip overseas as president, but that doesn't mean that he's managed to escape the political troubles that certainly have been bedeviling him back home. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith is in Riyadh. Tam, thanks for being with us.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: Glad to be with you.

SIMON: And does the team surrounding the president deal with all the headlines that have - I must say that we discover a new one every hour it seems.

KEITH: (Laughter) Yes. You know, just as Air Force One was taking off - hadn't been in the air more than a few minutes - both The New York Times and Washington Post came out with big stories related to the FBI investigation³ into Russian meddling⁴ in the election and possible collusion between members of Trump's team and Russia. The White House put out statements batting one of the stories down, trying to put the other one in a more favorable context, trying to explain why the president would have told the Russian foreign minister that the FBI director was a nut job and that getting rid of him would relieve pressure. Since then, there hasn't really been a chance to ask the president any questions, and his communications team have made themselves pretty scarce. Though, Chief of Staff Ryan Priebus on the flight over told reporters that the president got very little sleep.

SIMON: Quite, if I may, a royal welcome in Saudi Arabia - right? - flags, horses.

KEITH: In - yes, all of those things. There were royal guards lining⁵ a red carpet that extended from Air Force One all the way to the terminal, children with flowers, trumpets⁶, jets flying over with red-white-and-blue smoke trails decorating the sky. And then that was actually only the first arrival ceremony. There was a second arrival ceremony at the royal court, where a band played "The Star-Spangled Banner." There were bagpipes⁷. The president was awarded a medal, one of the top honors in the country for for people who are not from Saudi Arabia. Now, President Obama...

SIMON: I've seen that on the television images. It looks like the kind of thing a sommelier wears in a classy restaurant.

KEITH: (Laughter) I don't think I go to those kind of restaurants, Scott.

SIMON: (Laughter).

KEITH: So I don't know what to tell you.

SIMON: I've seen them in movies, but go ahead, yes.

KEITH: (Laughter) But - all of this is to say that there is an affinity⁸ between Saudi Arabia and President Trump. There's a lot of optimism from Saudi Arabia's leaders about what a Trump presidency⁹ could mean for them. In part, it's stylistic. You know, they all love gold. But also, you know, President Trump has taken a really tough stance on Iran, and that is important to the leaders of Saudi Arabia.

SIMON: Of course, the president's scheduled to give a speech on Islam tomorrow. Do you have any indication about how that - what he's going to put into that talk?

KEITH: Well, I'm pretty sure that he is not going to say that he thinks Islam hates us, which is what he said a little more than a year ago in an interview on CNN. He'll be speaking to 35 - leaders from 35 Muslim-majority countries. His national security adviser¹⁰ says that he will call on them to promote a peaceful vision of a - of Islam. It's about getting these countries to unite against terror groups like ISIS. Just one interesting note - this speech is being written - a bunch of different drafts by a bunch of different people. Two people of note - Steven Miller¹¹, who is a young aide who had a big role in the president's travel ban executive order that was targeting Muslim-majority countries, and then Dina Powell, who's a deputy national security adviser and an Egyptian-American.

SIMON: Yeah. And she came to the administration from Goldman Sachs, right?

KEITH: Yes, she did.

SIMON: NPR's White House correspondent Tamara Keith, who is in Riyadh traveling with President Trump, thanks so much for being with us.

KEITH: You're welcome. Glad to be with you.

1 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。

2 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。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

6 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

7 bagpipes   

n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Yes, and I'm also learning to play the bagpipes. 是的，我也想学习吹风笛。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away. 于是醋溜先生拿过了风笛，风笛手牵走了奶牛。 来自互联网

8 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

9 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。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。