VOA标准英语2009年-Asia to Welcome President Obama

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
10 November 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Asia this month with stops in Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. In Singapore, Mr. Obama will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum¹. It will be his first meeting with Southeast Asian leaders, including Burma. Many Asian countries are welcoming the renewed American engagement but some are disappointed Mr. Obama will not visit them on this trip.

 
US President Barack Obama 
In his first trip to Asia as President, Mr. Obama is expected to emphasize renewed cooperation between the U.S. and Asian nations.
 
His first stop is Japan, underscoring the importance of the U.S.-Japanese relationship. It's currently strained over the new government's review of the U.S. military presence.

Jeff Kingston is director of Asian studies at Japan's Temple University. He says the U.S. wants Japan to be a less reluctant ally.

"It's always Washington says how come you're not doing this, can you do a bit more of this," he said. "Twist their arm on this, push them here. The Japanese resent that."

In Singapore at the APEC forum, Mr. Obama will meet with the leaders of all 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, including Burma.

The U.S. has changed its policy on Burma from isolating² the military government to holding direct talks with the country's leaders.

ASEAN's Secretary General, Surin Pitsuwan, says U.S. engagement is fueling new optimism in the region.

"The last eight years or the last nine years, we haven't seen much willingness on the part of the U.S. Maybe because the U.S. has been preoccupied³ somewhere else and the problems in Southeast Asia and East Asia were not critical enough to require the American involvement, American attention. Well, it's a new approach it's a new beginning," he said.

President Obama will also visit China, where the relationship is seen as crucial for world growth.

Mr. Obama's last stop is South Korea. Talks there are expected to focus on how to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear program.

In Indonesia, where Mr. Obama spent four years as a child, people are disappointed that the president will not be visiting on this trip.

At the state school where Mr. Obama once studied, one student's mother expressed regret.

"We have been waiting for Obama to visit. Hopefully he will come later on." she said.

U.S. officials say Mr. Obama will visit Indonesia next year to underscore the importance of relations with the world's most populous⁴ Muslim nation.

 

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

3 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。