voa标准英语2008-Europe Welcomes Obama, But How Long Will the Hon

Europe has given a warm welcome to Barack Obama and most Europeans express a sense that this is an American president they can do business with and one who will also listen to their opinions and concerns. There are, however, major issues between the United States and Europe where the two sides are likely to agree, and, where there could be friction¹.
　

Europe

Even before he has taken office, the world is looking to Barack Obama to begin addressing problems and crises.

For Europeans - money, war, the environment are the three top issues for the incoming American president. How he deals with them when he takes office on January 20 will be closely watched.

Since economies around the globe slid into recession and toward potential meltdown in the past months, governments have struggled to find ways to stem the downturn - with massive bailout packages and proposals to stimulate² economies and create jobs.
　

Waltraud Schelkle

Political economist³ Waltraud Schelkle of the London School of Economics said turning the crisis around is too big a job for any one leader or one country. But, she said Europe still looks to America.

"Europe in general, and perhaps the Germans in particular, would hope that the U.S. goes on spending and being that big market for our goods, while at the same time complaining that Americans don't save enough," she said. "So, there is a contradictory⁴ position in a way. In a way yes, Europe hopes that there will be a coordinated⁵ effort to stimulate the world economy back into just normalization⁶ and not this freefall in which we are at the moment."

But, even European countries are at odds⁷ with one another over what to do.

While the economy remains⁸ uppermost on everyone's mind - security issues, terrorism and war also figure prominently in U.S.-European relations.
　

Francis Tusa

And, with both sides of the Atlantic involved in Afghanistan and Mr. Obama having made success there a top priority - Afghanistan is certain to be high on the list, said British defense⁹ analyst¹⁰ Francis Tusa.

"If President Obama isn't on the phone to [German] Chancellor¹¹ Merkel and people like that on January 20, I suspect the phone's going to start ringing on the 21st and this is one of those ones - if they [the Europeans] feel they can do business with this new president," he said. "I suspect almost the first thing he will ask is for a lifting of restrictions¹² on troops already deployed¹³ in Afghanistan and to those nations not deployed, he will be looking not just for one load of MP's [military police] or a small medical detachment - no, fighting troops."

But more troops are not the answer, said political historian Dan Plesch of London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. He said one of the main problems is what he called "coalition¹⁴ incompetence¹⁵".

"Any rookie officer gets taught about unity¹⁶ of command in the most simple of military engagement and yet there is no unity of command of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, no unity of doctrine¹⁷ and it isn't just about blaming the Germany for not wanting to pull their jack¹⁸ boots on again and get keen about fighting. Blaming the Germans is the easy headline. The reality is that American and coalition forces have been grossly incompetent¹⁹ from beginning to end in this conflict," said Plesch.

Most analysts²⁰ agree that a more robust²¹ troop presence must be coupled with negotiations²² for any sort of success in Afghanistan and most also agree that Afghanistan is a crucial test for the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO.

For the past eight years of the Bush administration, Europeans have criticized the United States for lack of leadership in combating global warming and protecting the environment. Now, they hope that will change.
　

Greenpeace climate advisor23 Charlie Kronick

Charlie Kronick, senior climate advisor with Greenpeace, said Mr. Obama can combine economic stimulus²⁴ programs with protecting the environment.

"In spite of constraints²⁵ put on him because of the economy, there are some real opportunities here," he said. "The first one is investment in energy efficiency and improving the energy performance of the U.S. It's a fantastic way to generate employment activity generally and it actually targets the most vulnerable members of society - in other words people who are going to suffer from what's called fuel poverty - who can't afford to heat their homes in the winter and cool them in summer. All good stuff, good for the environment, good for the economy."

It's a tall order - but whether on economic issues, security, war and peace or saving the environment - much of the world will look to the new American president to work with them and to lead the way.

1 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

5 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

12 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

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

18 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

19 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

21 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

22 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

23 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

24 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

25 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓