VOA慢速英语2013 新闻报道 - 美国新任国务卿克里大话外交政策

 

IN THE NEWS - America’s New Secretary of State Talks Foreign Policy

新闻报道 - 美国新任国务卿克里大话外交政策

From VOA Learning English, this is IN THE NEWS in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear this week that American foreign policy decisions affect the lives of Americans. Mr. Kerry spoke¹ during a visit to the University of Virginia. The school was established by the country’s first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson. 

美国国务卿约翰·克里（John Kerry）本周明确表示，美国外交政策会影响到美国人的生活。克里是在访问维吉尼亚大学期间做出了上述表示，这所大学是由美国首任国务卿托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）所创建。

The visit came at a time when Congress and President Obama are debating federal spending. Secretary Kerry used his speech to call attention to the importance of diplomacy². And he explained why the international affairs budget should not be cut.

克里此次访问正值美国国会和奥巴马总统就联邦支出争论不休之际。克里用这番讲话唤起人们对外交重要性的关注。他还解释了国际事务预算不应被削减的原因。

Mr. Kerry said foreign policy matters do not just include threats to the United States. He said they include “the products Americans buy, the goods they sell, the jobs they create, and the opportunity we provide for economic growth and vitality³.” 

克里称，外交政策问题不仅包括美国面临的威胁，还包括“美国人购买的产品，销售的商品，创造的就业岗位，以及为经济增长和经济活力提供的机遇。”

“I'm here because our lives as Americans are more intertwined than ever before with the lives of people in parts of the world we've never visited. In the global challenges of diplomacy, development, economic security, and environmental security, you will feel our success or failure just as strongly as those people in those other countries that you'll never meet.”

他说，“我之所以在这里，是因为美国人的生活同我们从未到过的世界其它地方的人们的生活已经前所未有地交织在一起。在外交、发展、经济安全和环境安全这些全球性的挑战上，那些我们从未谋面的其它国家的人们对美国成或败的感受与我们同等强烈。”

Secretary Kerry said one study found that most Americans thought the international affairs budget was 25 percent of the national budget. Many of those questioned wanted to reduce foreign affairs spending to 10 percent. He noted⁴ that such spending represents, in fact, just over 1 percent of the national budget. 

克里表示，一项研究发现大多数美国人都以为国际事务预算占到了全国预算的25%，许多受访者希望将外交事务支出减少到10%。他指出，事实上，这类指出仅占到全国预算的1%多一点。

Mr. Kerry praised the State Department and USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. He said their good work is measured not only in the value of the dollar, but in American values. He noted that it is less costly⁵ to deploy⁶ diplomats⁷ today than troops tomorrow.

克里赞扬了美国国务院和美国国际开发署（USAID）。他说，他们的工作不仅是用美元的价值来衡量，还可以用美国的价值观来衡量。他指出，今天派遣外交官要比明天派遣军队成本低得多。 

Secretary Kerry said the State Department and USAID have provided assistance to democracy and human rights programs in several countries.

克里表示，美国国务院和国际开发署已经向多个国家提供了民主和人权项目的援助。 

Mr. Kerry will make his first foreign trip as Secretary of State beginning this Sunday. He plans to visit nine countries in Europe and the Middle East. 

本周日，克里将作为国务卿首次出访。他计划访问欧洲和中东地区的九个国家。

He also spoke about globalization and the spread of information. The Arab Spring is a good example of how social media like Facebook and Twitter can influence foreign policies and even change governments.

他还谈到了全球化和信息的传播。

The political unrest started over two years ago in Tunisia. This week, events made it clear that political reforms and change do not happen overnight. Tunisia’s Islamist supported prime minister resigned after failing to form a new government. Hamadi Jebali left office after saying his own Ennahada party had rejected his government plans. 

那场政治骚乱起于两年多前的突尼斯。本周，事实证明政治改革和变革不是一朝一夕的事。受伊斯兰支持的突尼斯总理哈马迪·杰巴利（Hamadi Jebali）在组阁失败后辞职。他声称自己所在的伊斯兰复兴运动党(Ennahda Party)拒绝了他的内阁方案，之后他挂冠而去。

Mr. Jebali announced his desire to form a non-partisan government on February 6th. The announcement came just after opposition⁸ leader Chokri Belaid was shot and killed in the capital, Tunis. Large protests followed the shooting. Supporters accused the prime minister of being involved.

杰巴利在2月6日宣布了组建无党派政府的愿望。就在此前，反对派领导人Chokri Belaid在突尼斯首都被枪杀，并引发大规模抗议。支持者指责杰巴利涉及此案。

On Friday, Interior Minister Ali Larayedh was nominated as Mr. Ennadha’s choice for Prime Minister. He will have two weeks to form a government.

周四，伊斯兰复兴运动党遴选内政部长Ali Larayedh作为该党的总理人选。他有两周时间来组建内阁。

1 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。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。