【一起听英语】政治上的尴尬事

在政界里，国家领导人是否也遭遇过尴尬呢，他们又是如何巧妙得化解的呢

Neil: Hello, I'm Neil.

Callum: And I'm Callum.

Neil: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Today we're talking

about political gaffes².

Callum: Yes, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has suffered a rather embarrassing

moment. Some private remarks he made to the US President, Barack Obama,

during the G20 Summit in Cannes last week have been made public.

Neil: When a politician says or does something embarrassing, or which reveals

thoughts he doesn't want the public to know about, it's called a political gaffe¹.

More on political gaffes later on, but first a question for you, Callum. Are you

ready?

Callum: Go on!

Neil: Seeing as we're talking about heads of state, I have a question about

Presidents… Who is the President of Germany? Is it:

a) Angela Merkel

b) Christian³ Wulff

c) Jurgen Klinsmann

Callum: Christian Wulff. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Neil: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's get

back to the subject of political gaffes. Let's find out exactly what it was that the

French President said. Here's a report from the BBC's Christian Frazer:

Christian Frazer, BBC

On Thursday, as journalists were gathering⁴ for a bilateral⁵ news conference with the American

and French presidents they were treated to a remarkable⁶ insight into the personal dynamics⁷ of

the negotiating room. "I can't look at him any more" said Mr Sarkozy, of the Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "he's a liar⁸". "You're sick of him", said the American President

in some exasperation⁹, "I have to deal with him every day."

Callum: Ah, yes. That is pretty bad, isn't it? He called the Israeli Prime Minister "a liar".

Neil: I think Barack Obama would rather his comments hadn't become public either.

He appears to have some sympathy for Mr Sarkozy by saying "I have to deal

with him every day". Callum, what does it mean "to deal with someone"?

Callum: It means to talk to and meet someone often as part of your job. But Neil, I

think one of the most interesting aspects of this story is that it took several

days for French journalists who overheard the comments to report the story.

Neil: Yes, French journalists overheard the comments. This means they heard them

without meaning to or without the speakers' knowledge. It seems pretty strange

to me for journalists not to report such a big story.

Callum: Yes, I'm not sure British journalists would act in the same way. Here's the

BBC's Christian Frazer again.

Christian Frazer, BBC

French journalists stunned¹⁰ by what they'd heard, initially¹¹ agreed not to print the quotes. Was it

ethically¹² unsound or was it the overbearing deference¹³, even fear, with which French

journalists approach the political class? You can't help feeling British journalists might have

reacted differently. In fact they did when Gordon Brown made a similar mistake. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Neil: The French journalists might have thought it was ethically unsound to print

the quotes. This means they might have thought it was below the standards of

their profession.

Callum: Or perhaps it was because in France there is a deference for the political class.

A deference is a politeness and respect for someone or something.

Neil: As the reporter says, this approach is very different to the treatment the former

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, received from the British press when

he made a political gaffe before the last general election in the UK in May

2010. Do you remember what happened, Callum?

Callum: Yes, Gordon Brown was heard describing a person he had just spoken to as "a

bigoted¹⁴ woman". A bigoted person is someone with strong and unreasonable¹⁵

opinions which they won't change under any circumstances.

Neil: And what kind of impact did this political gaffe have on Gordon Brown?

Callum: I think most people agree it was the final nail in his coffin¹⁶.

Neil: The final nail in his coffin. This means it was the last in a series of events

leading to the failure of something. Gordon Brown lost that election and his

position as Prime Minister. Do you know of any other political gaffes, Callum?

Callum: There have been a few notable ones. My favourite was from a former US

President, Ronald Reagan. He was getting ready to go on air when he said this:

Ronald Reagan

My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will

outlaw¹⁷ Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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Neil: He joked that he'd signed legislation, meaning he'd created a law, which

banned Russia! He added that the bombing would start in five minutes!

Fortunately this wasn't broadcast but appeared at a later date. And so onto our

quiz question, Callum.

Callum: Yes, I'm ready.

Neil: I asked who the President of Germany is...

Callum: And my answer was Christian Wulff

Neil: And you were right. I was hoping to trick people with that question. The

President of Germany isn't as well known as the Chancellor¹⁸, or Prime Minister.

In fact, I had to look him up myself just to check! Thanks Callum. Well we

hope you've enjoyed today's programme, and you'll join us again soon for

another 6 Minute English.

Both: Bye! 

1 gaffe   

n.（社交上令人不快的）失言，失态

参考例句：

• I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
• He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。

2 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

8 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

9 exasperation   

n.愤慨

参考例句：

• He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
• She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。

10 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 ethically   

adv.在伦理上，道德上

参考例句：

• Ethically , we have nothing to be ashamed about . 从伦理上说，我们没有什么好羞愧的。
• Describe the appropriate action to take in an ethically ambiguous situation. 描述适当行为采取在一个道德地模棱两可的情况。

13 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

14 bigoted   

adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
• I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。

15 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

16 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

17 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

18 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。