VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - Obama, 'First Pacific Presid

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

President Obama is back from his first trip to Asia since becoming what he called "America's first Pacific president." The president, born in Hawaii, began his eight-day trip in Japan, then visited Singapore, China and South Korea. He met with leaders on issues including trade, the world economy and climate change.
　
APEC leaders in a group photo

In Singapore, he attended this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. And he chose Hawaii for the APEC meeting in two years.

The president spent a day in Japan. He met with the new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama. They talked about strengthening their nations' alliance. But the prime minister campaigned on a promise of a "more equal" relationship. For example, he wants to study a two thousand six agreement for an American Marine¹ air station to move to another area of Okinawa.

In South Korea, President Obama and President Lee Myung-bak discussed a free trade agreement signed by their governments two years ago. President Obama said he hopes to get Congress to approve it next year.

China is the United States' second largest trading partner, after Canada. And China now holds more United States government debt than any other nation.
　
President Obama with Chinese President Hu Jintao during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

In Beijing, President Obama met with President Hu Jintao and Premier² Wen Jiabao. He also spoke³ to university students in Shanghai. Among other subjects, he talked about freedoms that Americans value.

BARACK OBAMA: "These freedoms of expression and worship, of access to information and political participation⁴, we believe are universal rights. They should be available to all people."

China has the world's largest number of Internet users. But it also has what is often called the Great Firewall of China. The government restricts political content and blocks some social networking and news Web sites. President Obama said he is a strong supporter of open Internet access.

His meeting with students in Shanghai was broadcast locally. But China rejected an American request to show it live nationally.

There were no major developments, but there were promises of closer cooperation in talks between the two presidents. They made a joint⁵ statement to reporters, but took no questions.

Announcements included a series of measures to strengthen cooperation on clean energy. For example, the United States and China will jointly⁶ establish a clean energy research center. Scientists and engineers will work on technologies such as carbon capture and storage. That involves preventing industrial gases from escaping into the atmosphere where they can trap heat.

Also this week, environment ministers from about forty countries met in Copenhagen. They discussed issues related to a climate change conference that opens December seventh in the Danish capital.

APEC leaders said Sunday that it is unrealistic to expect a full and legally enforceable agreement to be negotiated by then. Instead, they called for a temporary political agreement while continuing to negotiate a replacement⁷ for the Kyoto Protocol⁸. That treaty ends in two thousand twelve.

And that’s IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。