2007年VOA标准英语-Merida, Mexico Will be Last Stop of Bush's Lati

By Greg Flakus
Merida, Mexico
13 March 2007

Merida, Mexico, is the last stop on President Bush's tour of Latin America. There he will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who shares many of Mr. Bush's views on free markets, trade and development. President Bush has been dogged by protests most of the way on his Latin American trip, but as VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Merida, he can expect a much calmer scene there.

 
Newspaper headlines refer to President Bush's visit
People dance on the streets at night in Merida and spend their days in the parks and plazas² of this colonial city with its many monuments, old churches and municipal buildings. People here are also used to American visitors, many of whom come to see the nearby ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal, which President Bush will tour with his Mexican host, President Calderon, on Tuesday.

Many Merida residents have been impressed and, to some degree, annoyed by the tight security imposed by authorities for the Bush visit. Some protesters, mostly from Mexico City and elsewhere, are here, but no one expects the kind of violent clashes that occurred in South America.

 
Helen Torres 
Sitting in the shade of palm trees at a downtown plaza¹, Helen Torres says she believes the visit will go well.

She says people here are very calm and do not get roiled³ up about political matters.

Merida, which is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan, is a city of just under a million people about one thousand kilometers southeast of Mexico City, but even farther from the hectic⁴ and conflictive Mexican capital in terms of its ambiance. Political turmoil⁵ and protest marches are not a common part of life here.

 
Eladio Cuello Quintana 
As he sits in the plaza having his shoes shined, retired⁶ professional Eladio Cuello Quintana expresses minimal⁷ expectations for the Bush-Calderon meeting.

He says people here are not accustomed to such meetings and that they do not expect much. He says he does, however, hope that the two presidents can come to an agreement on immigration that will benefit Mexico.

Immigration reform is a goal President Bush has pursued for several years, but his attention was diverted by the terrorist attacks of September 2001 and the US Congress has been divided between those who favor the president's proposal for a guest worker program and those who want more effective enforcement at the border before any such program is considered. Some 12 million Mexicans live and work in the United States illegally, according to some estimates. Mexican immigrants send back more than $20 billion a year in remittances⁸, the second largest source of income in Mexico next to oil.

During part of his trip, President Bush was shadowed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who seeks to displace US influence in Latin America with his brand of populist socialism. Chavez, an admirer of Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro, has referred to President Bush as "the devil" and the United States as "the empire."

Felipe Calderon would be a natural foil to Chavez in that he and President Bush agree on most economic issues. But Calderon has his own problems at home, having won election last July by the slimmest of margins⁹.

One area where the two presidents can work together effectively is in fighting cross-border crime and drug smuggling¹⁰. Calderon launched a far-reaching campaign against organized crime right after assuming office in December and he is expected to seek more US help in furthering that effort during his talks with President Bush.

1 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

2 plazas   

n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心

参考例句：

• At focal points, there are seating plazas as rest points for users. 在主要主景点上，有空间较大的广场提供休息的地方。 来自互联网
• Such products are suitable for lighting and decoration of plazas, courtyards, parks, residential district and roadside. 本产品适合于广场、庭院，公园、小区草坪和道路的装饰和照明。 来自互联网

3 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网

4 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

8 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

9 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。