VOA标准英语2009年-Merkel Meets With Obama, Addresses Congres

By Kent Klein
White House
03 November 2009

German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel is in Washington to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by addressing a joint² meeting of the U.S. Congress. Ms. Merkel met earlier with U.S. President Barack Obama.

 
President Barack Obama meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, 03 Nov 2009
Before meeting with Mr. Obama in the Oval Office, Chancellor Merkel told reporters she wanted to thank the U.S. for its support for German unification.

"I wanted to use this opportunity today to express our gratitude³, my gratitude to the American people for the support that the American people have given us throughout the process leading to German reunification," she said.

Ms. Merkel is the first German leader to speak before a joint meeting of Congress, and the first to address the House or Senate since Konrad Adenauer in 1957.

President Obama says the honor is particularly meaningful for the first native of the former East Germany to lead a unified⁴ Germany.

"This is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it is like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial⁵ regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany," the president said.

The president thanked Ms. Merkel for Germany's contributions to the NATO military force in Afghanistan, although the United States wants Germany and other NATO partners to add more troops to the effort.

"We appreciate the sacrifices of German soldiers in Afghanistan, and our common work there to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, and to create the environment in which the Afghan people themselves can provide for their own security," said Mr. Obama.

The two leaders also discussed the nuclear situation in Iran, the world economy and global efforts to fight climate change,

After meeting with the German chancellor, Mr. Obama was to take part in the U.S.-European Union summit at the White House. The president said Germany has become the centerpiece for a extraordinarily⁶ strong European Union.

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 dictatorial   

adj. 独裁的，专断的

参考例句：

• Her father is very dictatorial.她父亲很专横。
• For years the nation had been under the heel of a dictatorial regime.多年来这个国家一直在独裁政权的铁蹄下。

6 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。