VOA标准英语2009年-Obama's Peace Prize: Just Reward Or Premat

By Gary Thomas
Washington
09 October 2009

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama came as a surprise to most everyone. Few analysts¹ thought a world leader with less than a year in office would win the world's most prestigious² peace award. Many believe the award was given to the president more for attitude than achievement.

 
Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, holds a picture of US President Barack Obama, in Oslo, Norway, 09 Oct 2009
The award citation³, read by Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland speaks glowingly of Mr. Obama's new approach to foreign policy.

"Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics," he said. "Multilateral diplomacy⁴ has regained⁵ a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations⁶ are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts," he said.

Many analysts interpreted that as an implicit⁷ rebuke⁸ to Mr. Obama's predecessor⁹, George W. Bush, over his handling of the war in Iraq.

President Obama is struggling to find a new strategy for Afghanistan and a way to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons power. He has repeatedly said he favors engagement. But does a Nobel Prize translate into political capital in world capitals? Not necessarily, say analysts.

John Tirman, executive director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says being a Nobel laureate is of only marginal benefit at the negotiating table.

"As far as other capitals are concerned and other world leaders and things as specific as Iran sanctions, I'm not sure that it carries quite as much weight because national interests tend to trump¹⁰ these kinds of symbolic¹¹ gestures," he said. "But it certainly doesn't hurt. I think it makes people regard him with more respect, at least in the short term," he said.

 
Nobel Peace Prize medal
Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution agrees, but adds that it is too soon to know if the Obama approach will yield concrete results.

"It doesn't tend to solve you any problems right away. It may create you a context in which it is a little easier to have negotiation," he said. "But I think the [Nobel] committee made a mistake in giving the prize so soon, frankly¹², because it somewhat discredits¹³ and cheapens the whole notion of the Peace Prize because we haven't yet seen if this Obama approach really is going to make a difference in solving problems. All we know is that it's created a little bit better atmosphere for discussing them," he added.

Public opinion polls show a sharp improvement in attitudes towards the United States since Mr. Obama took office in January. O'Hanlon believes the Nobel Committee was blinded by the president's near-pop star status in some countries, and that the young president has no real achievements that merit such an award.

 
Theodore Roosevelt (L) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906; Woodrow Wilson (R)won in 1919. Barack Obama is now the 3rd sitting US president to win the award
"I think that they have bought into the [presidential] campaign, bought into the rhetoric¹⁴, bought into the image. All that's fine. I just wished they had exercised a little more restraint in judging whether that yet merited this kind of an achievement award. This Nobel Peace Prize has historically been about actual achievements," said O'Hanlon.

But MIT's John Tirman says the Nobel Peace Prize is different from the other Nobel awards, such as chemistry or literature.

The Nobel Peace Prize is clearly a symbolic gesture. Unlike their other prizes, which actually honor concrete achievements, this tends to be about the political moment, about aspirations¹⁵ rather than achievements. And I think in that sense it's appropriate," he said.

Mr. Obama is scheduled to personally accept his Nobel Peace Prize at the December 10 awards ceremony in Oslo. White House officials say he will donate his $1.4 million prize money to charity.

 

1 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。

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

4 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。

5 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

6 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。

7 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

8 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

9 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

13 discredits   

使不相信( discredit的第三人称单数 )； 使怀疑； 败坏…的名声； 拒绝相信

参考例句：

• His theories met with general discredits. 他的理论遭到普遍怀疑。
• The man who discredits the supreme certainty of mathematics is feeding on confusion. 一个人如怀疑数学的极端可靠性就是陷入混乱。

14 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。

15 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。