VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Celebrations Give Way to Presidential Rea

Washington celebrated¹ well into the night Tuesday following Barack Obama's inauguration² as the 44th president of the United States. But the celebrating quickly gave way to the reality of the problems and challenges facing the new president.
　
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice³ President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden attend a service at Washington National Cathedral, 21 Jan 2009

After a night of parties and inaugural⁴ balls, it was time for prayers offered for the new president at Washington's National Cathedral.

"Grant to Barack Obama, president of the United States, and to all in authority, your grace and goodwill," said the presiding clergyman.

Mr. Obama even took time at one of the inaugural balls to tell ABC News that his administration's top priority will be economic recovery.

Iraq, Afghanistan top new president's agenda on first day

But the new president is also poised⁵ to quickly confront the ongoing⁶ conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to follow through on a campaign promise to eventually close down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Obama promised swift action on the challenges ahead. But mindful of opinion polls that show great expectations for his presidency⁷, Mr. Obama also urged the public to be patient.

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many," said President Obama. "They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America, they will be met."

Critics say inaugural address did not live up to expectations

Mr. Obama's speech was generally well-received. But there were some who felt the address did not quite live up to its expectations, given the new president's gift for political rhetoric⁸.

William Gavin wrote speeches for former President Richard Nixon.

"We are wearing out our presidents, expecting too much from them in this quest, this lust⁹ for eloquence¹⁰, to be thrilled, to be inspired," Gavin said. "Listen, they have more to do than that."

University of Maryland political scientist Ron Walters says Mr. Obama was right to try and tamp¹¹ down public expectations for immediate¹² success.

Walters was a guest on VOA's Press Conference USA program.

"When one looks at the unprecedented¹³ basket of crises that he is going to inherit when he walks into the Oval Office, he is bound to fail on some of these," said Walters. "So I think what he has been trying to do is manage expectations to give people a realistic sense of what he could possibly achieve."

Experts say Mr. Obama's ability to sway the public with his rhetoric will be an invaluable¹⁴ political asset, especially when it comes to convincing Congress to support his economic stimulus¹⁵ plan.

Allan Lichtman is a presidential historian at American University in Washington.

"Congress is like Wall Street," said Allan Lichtman. "It operates on fear and greed. And if the people are with you, like they were with Franklin Roosevelt, Congress is likely to go along. Roosevelt used the technology of his time, the radio with his Fireside Chats. Obama has proven to be a master of modern technology - the Internet, YouTube, text messages - and he will use it."

Public expectations high about turning around economy

For the first time since Bill Clinton came into office in 1993, Democrats¹⁶ have a new president and have majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. That has also raised public expectations for quick action to turn around the weakened economy.

But Mr. Clinton ran into difficulties in dealing¹⁷ with Congress, including some problems with some fellow Democrats.

Scot Faulkner worked for President Ronald Reagan and later for House Republican leaders in the 1990's. Faulkner says President Obama will face similar challenges in dealing with congressional leaders from both parties.

"How much are Senator [Harry] Reid and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi going to be cooperative, but also assert that they are co-equal? How much are the Republicans going to give the new president a wide berth¹⁸ or try to lay the groundwork for their resurgence¹⁹? asked Faulkner.

Mr. Obama demonstrated considerable political skills in winning not only the presidency, but in defeating Hillary Clinton for Democratic Party's presidential nomination²⁰.

Obama now faces different set of challenges

Analyst²¹ Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute says Mr. Obama now faces a different set of challenges as he goes about the task of governing the country.

"He has raised his game to a level we rarely see in public life," said Ornstein. "Is it all going to work out? Can he sustain it at that level? That is the great question for all of us in terms of whether Obama becomes a great president."

Mr. Obama begins his presidency with strong support in public opinion polls. But it remains²² to be seen how patient the public will be as the new president struggles with a weak economy and attempts to meet the pent up demand for political change after eight years of the Bush administration.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 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。

3 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。

4 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

10 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

11 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

12 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。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

15 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。

16 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

19 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

20 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。

21 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。

22 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。