VOA标准英语2009年-Germany's Merkel Presses US Lawmakers for

By Lisa Ferdinando
Washington
03 November 2009

 
German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel addresses a joint² session of the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C., 03 Nov 2009
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was afforded a rare honor Tuesday as she addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. In her speech to U.S. lawmakers she pressed for an agreement at next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen, reiterated³ her country's commitment to Afghanistan and warned of the dangers of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Ms. Merkel is the first German chancellor to address the U.S. Congress in five decades - and the first ever to do so in a joint meeting.

The address comes days before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a theme featured throughout her 30 minute speech.

The German leader, who met earlier in the day with President Barack Obama, spoke⁴ of many pressing global challenges, including Afghanistan, where she noted⁵ that Germany has the third largest troop contingent⁶. 

She said the objective in Afghanistan must be to transfer responsibility to the Afghan government. She said Germany, which has had troops in the country since 2002, stands ready to shoulder its responsibility.

The international community's mission in Afghanistan is without any doubt a tough one," Ms. Merkel said. "It demands a lot from all of us and it now needs to be transferred to the next phase as soon as the new Afghan government is in office.

Her comments come as President Obama is reviewing his war strategy in Afghanistan and considering sending thousands of more troops there. 

Ms. Merkel also warned of the threat to Israel and the free world if Iran were to have a nuclear weapon. Germany is part of international efforts to halt Iran's controversial nuclear activities.

"A nuclear bomb in the hands of an Iranian president who denies the Holocaust⁷, threatens Israel and denies Israel the right to exist is not acceptable," Ms. Merkel said. 

On climate change, the German leader called for an agreement at December's climate change summit in Copenhagen on one point: that global warming cannot exceed two degrees Celsius⁸.

"To achieve this, we need the readiness of all countries to accept internationally binding⁹ obligations," Ms. Merkel said. "We cannot afford missing the objectives in climate protections that signs tell [s] us have to be met."

The chancellor also paid tribute to American efforts to help East Germans in the once divided Germany. She said she and the German people will never forget the support from Americans before the fall of the Berlin wall on November 9, 1989 and in the years that followed.

Ms. Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, said the wall, its barbed wire and the order for the guards to shoot those trying to escape to the West limited her access to the free world. She never imagined a day when she would even travel to the United States, let alone stand before the U.S. Congress.

The last German leader to address the U.S. Congress was in 1957, when Chancellor Konrad Adenauer spoke in separate speeches to the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

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 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

7 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。