英语短文名人故事 政界精英 第18期:科林.鲍威尔

 　　Colin Powell 科林.鲍威尔

　　Colin Powell has a hard time letting go of work, even when he’s forced to play and sing. 鲍威尔平日一向是个“工作狂”，即便是放松一下 的时候，比如唱歌，也是出于工作的需要。

　　Since taking office, the ever-dignified Secretary of State has learned that karaoke is a great leveler in the Asia-Pacific, 这位一向不苟言笑的国务卿先生自上任以来已经认识到卡拉OK在亚太地区外交中起着举足轻重的平衡作用。

　　where tradition requires him and other foreign ministers to individually perform a skit¹-and-song in front of their peers at the end of the region’s largest security meeting. 这种情况下，鲍威尔和其他各国外长在亚太地区最大的安全会议结束之时，都不得不在同僚们的面前表演上一段。

　　The skit opened with Powell chairing a meeting, looking completely at home as he took advice from staffers. 在由鲍威尔主持的会议上，外长们的“表演”开始 了。鲍威尔听取了他的工作人员的建议，神态自若。

　　Then, the American president appeared on a huge backdrop video screen with advice for his chief diplomat².  这时，美国总统布什出现在了会堂的巨型背景屏幕上。

　　“Practice this time,” said President Bush. 布什向他的这位首席外交官建议道：“这次你就大胆去做吧。”

　　Powell and staff then rose and labored³ with gusto through the old “South Pacific” standard “Some Enchanted⁴ Evening”  接着，鲍威尔和其工作人员起立，满怀热情地缓 缓唱起了那首古老的经典南太平洋歌曲《迷人的夜晚》，

　　with lyrics⁵ bent⁶ to the arcana of Southeast Asian foreign relations. 其歌词暗指了东南亚地区微妙的外交关系。

　　Loud applause followed. The diplomatic audience agreed —diplomatically, and on background 一 that Powell was “really good.” 随后响起了热烈的掌声。这些外交官听众承认（有的是出于礼貌，有的是真的这样认为）鲍威尔唱得非常好。

　　Finally, all the ministers lined up to massacre⁷ an Abba tune,"I Have a Dream.”  最后，各国外长排着队唱起了著名瑞典演唱组合 Abba的歌《我有一个梦》，

　　Early reviews were positive. 演出结束后，大家的反应还不错。

　　The Americans were hilarious⁸, the Russians innovative⁹.  美国代表的表演非常热闹，俄罗斯的节目非常有创意

　　"Powell singing was good,” said Syed Hamid Albar, Malaysia’s foreign minister.  “鲍威尔的演唱非常好，”马来西亚外长赛义德.米 德.阿尔巴表示，

　　“It was a good break after all this talk on terrorism."  在讨论恐怖主义问题后，能够看到这样的表演是一种很好的休息。

1 skit   

n.滑稽短剧；一群

参考例句：

• The comic skIt sent up the foolishness of young men in love.那幅画把沉溺于热恋中的青年男子的痴态勾勒得滑稽可笑。
• They performed a skit to amuse the crowd.他们表演了一个幽默小品来娱乐观众。

2 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。

3 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

4 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

5 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

8 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

9 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。