voa标准英语2008-Obama Names Richardson as Next US Commerce Secre

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen yet another former political rival to join his incoming cabinet. Mr. Obama has announced that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will be his Secretary of Commerce and that Richardson will be a key member of his economic team. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
　

President-elect Barack Obama (l) and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in Chicago, 03 Dec 2008

President-elect Obama announced the Richardson appointment at a news conference in Chicago.

Mr. Obama said Governor Richardson's experience in Congress and in the cabinet of former President Bill Clinton makes him uniquely qualified¹ to be the top U.S. "economic diplomat²" as head of the Commerce Department.

"It is time to not just address our immediate³ economic threats, but to start laying the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity to help American businesses grow and thrive at home, and expand our efforts to promote American enterprise around the world," he said.

Earlier this year, the 61-year-old Richardson was one of Mr. Obama's political rivals when he sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination⁴. Richardson dropped out of the race after poor finishes in the early contests and later endorsed⁵ Mr. Obama.

Richardson joins two other former Obama rivals in the incoming administration, Vice⁶ President-elect Joe Biden and Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton.

Richardson said he was pleased to join a strong team in the incoming Obama cabinet.

"There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I've never seen it that way," he said. "Past competitors? Yes. But rivals implies something harder edged and less forgiving, and in the worlds of diplomacy⁷ and commerce, you open markets and minds not with rivalry⁸, but instead with partnership⁹ and innovation and hard work."

Richardson served in Congress for 15 years before joining the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and later as Energy Secretary. He was elected New Mexico's governor in 2002 and was re-elected two years ago.

Richardson has also served as an envoy¹⁰ on several international missions over the years to countries such as Iraq, North Korea, Cuba and Sudan.

Richardson is the first Hispanic-American named to the Obama cabinet. Mr. Obama won roughly two-thirds of the Hispanic vote in last month's election.

Some Richardson supporters had hoped he would be named secretary of state, but Mr. Obama said Richardson will play a key role on his economic team as Secretary of Commerce.

"His mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as a governor, experience in the cabinet and experience in Congress means that he is going to be a key strategist on all of the issues that we work on," he said.

Since his election on November 4, Mr. Obama has chosen more than half of his cabinet as well as several key White House positions in advance of his inauguration¹¹ on January 20.

George Mason University government expert James Pfiffner says Mr. Obama is wise to put his new team in place as soon as possible.

"The best chance for a president to get things through Congress is in his first several months in office," he said. "And so hitting the ground running is crucial with respect to the policy agenda."

A number of cabinet posts remain to be filled, including the heads of the Departments of Interior, Transportation, Labor¹², Energy and Education, as well as a Director of National Intelligence and a new chief for the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA.

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 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。

8 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 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。