VOA常速英语2007年-Bush Telephones Service Members on Thanksgiving

By Scott Stearns
White House
22 November 2007

This Thanksgiving holiday President Bush says Americans are grateful for members of the U.S. military serving overseas. VOA White House correspondent Scott Stearns reports the president and Mrs. Bush are spending the holiday at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

President Bush telephoned a dozen American servicemen and women to wish them a happy Thanksgiving.

He called seven Army, Marine¹, and Air Force sergeants² and a Navy petty officer in Iraq, a surface warfare³ specialist and a Coast Guard supply coordinator⁴ at sea in the Arabian Gulf⁵, an airman in Afghanistan, and a Coast Guard watch supervisor⁶ in the Pacific.

In Thanksgiving comments earlier this week, Mr. Bush says Americans are grateful for the sacrifices of U.S. service men and women who are taking risks to protect the nation's freedom.

"They are fighting on the front lines of the war on terror, the war against extremists and radicals⁷ who would do us more harm," he said. "Many of them will spend Thanksgiving far from the comforts of home. And so we thank them for their service and sacrifice. We keep their families and loved ones in our prayers. We pray for the families who lost a loved one in this fight against the extremists and radicals, and we vow⁸ that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

President Bush says Americans pay tribute to those who serve a cause larger than themselves. He says people are thankful for religious leaders who call Americans to lives of charity in a nation of great prosperity.

"We are blessed with farmers and ranchers who provide us with abundant food," he said. "We are blessed with the world's finest workers; with entrepreneurs who create new jobs. We are blessed with devoted⁹ teachers who prepare our children for the opportunities of tomorrow. We are blessed with a system of free enterprise that makes it possible for people of all backgrounds to rise in society and realize their dreams."

It is a traditional Thanksgiving menu at Camp David: roast turkey, cornbread dressing¹⁰, jellied cranberries¹¹, mashed¹² potatoes, and pumpkin¹³ pie.

The president and Mrs. Bush are joined by their daughters, Barbara and Jenna, as well as Jenna's fiancé Henry Hagar. It was at Camp David that Hagar asked the president for permission to marry his daughter earlier this year.

Mr. Bush recounted the story in an interview earlier this week with Charles Gibson of ABC News.

BUSH: "Henry came earlier in the day and said, 'I'd like to see you.'

GIBSON: "And you knew?"

BUSH: "I knew, because I had asked Jenna earlier, 'If Henry ever asked you to marry him would you say yes?' And she said, 'Absolutely. I love him.' And he came in and gave a very adept¹⁴ presentation."

GIBSON: "I heard you made him sweat."

BUSH: Well, yes a slight bit. Not a lot.

The president says he told Hagar, "You got a deal." Mrs. Bush says her husband said yes so fast that the business student did not have time to finish his prepared speech.

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 sergeants   

警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士

参考例句：

• Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
• The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。

3 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

8 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

11 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

12 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

13 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

14 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。