奥巴马赞扬非洲进步,呼吁进行改革

In Africa, Obama Praises Progress, Calls for Change 奥巴马赞扬非洲进步,呼吁进行改革

President Barack Obama says Africa has made “extraordinary progress.” But he says the continent must change its cultures of corruption¹ and discrimination. He spoke² last week during his trip to Kenya and Ethiopia.

Mr. Obama visited Kenya in 2006 when he was a United States Senator. But this was his first visit to the place of his father’s birth and death since he became president. Many Kenyans called the trip Mr. Obama’s homecoming.

Mr. Obama arrived in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, last Friday. On Saturday, he spoke with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about trade and security. Mr. Obama said they promised to continue working together against the Somali militant³ group al-Shabab.

“On security: the United States and Kenya are already strong partners and today we reaffirm that we stand united in the face of terrorism.”

Al-Shabab has repeatedly attacked Kenyan targets. In April, the group attacked Garissa University College, killing⁴ nearly 150 people.

During the Africa trip, the Obama administration said the U.S. would give more than $500 million to help fight extremists throughout Africa.

On Sunday, Mr. Obama spoke to thousands of Kenyans at a sports center. He talked about some of the problems facing the continent. He urged Africans and their leaders to change their political cultures.

“I wanna be very clear here: a politics that’s based solely⁵ on tribe and ethnicity is a politics that’s doomed⁶ to tear a country apart. It is a failure. Here in Kenya it’s time to change habits, and decisively break that cycle, ‘cause corruption holds back every aspect of economic and civil life.”

He noted⁷ that the continent had made many changes in the 50 years since many African nations gained independence from their colonial rulers.

“It is long past time to put aside old stereotypes⁹ of an Africa forever mired¹⁰ in poverty and conflict. The world must recognize Africa’s extraordinary progress.”

Mr. Obama visited Ethiopia on Monday.

He became the first U.S. president to do so. He visited a food factory that had been helped by American aid.

He urged Ethiopia’s leaders to end restrictions¹¹ on their political opponents and mass media. The government controls all of the seats in Parliament and limits the country’s media.

Mr. Obama said Ethiopia has helped in the fight against al-Shabab and improved conditions for many of its citizens. Ethiopia was once known as a country of famine and drought. But Mr. Obama said millions of Ethiopians no longer live in poverty.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama spoke to African Union leaders at the A.U.’s new $200 million headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Mr. Obama is the first U.S. president to speak to a meeting of the African Union. He said he was a proud American and a son of an African.

The Chinese government paid for and built the A.U.’s new offices. In his speech, Mr. Obama seemed to criticize China.

“Economic relationships can’t simply be about building countries’ infrastructure¹² with foreign labor¹³ or extracting Africa’s natural resources. Real economic partnerships¹⁴ have to be a good deal for Africa. They have to create jobs and capacity for Africans.”

Chinese state media said Mr. Obama went to Africa because U.S. officials are worried about China’s growing influence on the continent. The English-language Global Times said the United States is no longer “a dominant¹⁵ power in Africa.” The Xinhua news agency said the United States has spent billions of dollars on aid for Africa, but the programs “fail to make a big difference.”

China is Africa’s largest trading partner. It has aggressively worked to strengthen ties with the continent in the past few years. China has made tens of billions of dollars in loans to African nations since 2006. And it is spending $24 billion to develop a port in Kenya.

Words in This Story

discrimination – n. the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people

homecoming – n. the act of returning to your home or to a place that is like your home

reaffirm – v. to formally state (something) again in order to emphasize that it is true

aspect – n. a part of something

stereotype⁸ – n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic

extract – v. to get (a substance) from something by the use of a machine or chemicals

Did you see President Obama in Africa? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the comments section.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 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。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 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。

8 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

9 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

15 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。