VOA标准英语2009-Obama Begins First Presidential Trip to Asia

By Paula Wolfson
Tokyo
12 November 2009

 
President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, 12 Nov 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Japan, the first stop on an Asian journey that will also take him to China, South Korea, and a meeting of Pacific Rim¹ leaders in Singapore.

The president will waste no time in Japan, getting to work almost immediately after Air Force One touches down at a Tokyo airport.

He will hold his first bilateral² meeting of the trip with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama - talks that are likely to focus on economic and security matters.

Mr. Hatoyama has only been in office a few months. In that time he has signaled his intention to seek trade deals with other Asian nations, and review Japan's long-term military basing agreements with the United States.

"These are themes that are not especially welcome at the White House," said Michael Green who a specialist in U.S. - Japan relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He says neither side expects a major shift in relations, but the White House does have reason for concern.

"I think you will see the president emphasizing the importance of the alliance, perhaps pointing to new year, the 50th anniversary of the 1960 security treaty, as an opportunity to revitalize and strengthen the alliance," he said.

White House officials acknowledge it is time to reinvigorate and update the U.S.-Japan relationship.

The top White House advisor³ on East Asia, Jeffrey Bader, says that relationship goes beyond bilateral issues.

"It goes to global issues that we look to cooperate on where Japan has a major contribution to make: things like energy efficiency, where they are a leader; climate change; aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Japan is the third-largest contributor in the world," he said.

Recently, Japan announced it would provide $5 billion over five years in additional aid to Afghanistan, and would move swiftly to fulfill⁴ an existing pledge of $1 billion in economic assistance to Pakistan.

That was welcome news for the White House, as the president nears a decision on a revised strategy for Afghanistan that could include the deployment⁵ of tens of thousands of additional American troops.

Some critics have questioned why the president is traveling at a time when so many pressing matters are before him - not just Afghanistan, but also the U.S. economy and his ongoing⁶ campaign for health-care reform. But specialists in the region say he is to be commended for deciding to reach out across the Pacific.

Ken⁷ Lieberthal, an East Asia advisor to former President Bill Clinton, is now with the Brookings Institution in Washington.

"Asia is the most important region in the world from the U.S. perspective over the long term," he said. "We have huge economic interests in the region. The security issues out there are tremendous."

As he prepared to leave the White House for Asia, President Obama spoke⁸ about the U.S. economy and stressed the connection across the Pacific.

"In the coming days, I will also be meeting with leaders abroad to discuss a strategy for growth that is both balanced and broadly shared," he said. "It is a strategy in which Asian and Pacific markets are open to our exports, and one in which prosperity around the world is no longer as dependent on American consumption and borrowing, but rather more on American innovation and products."

From Japan, Mr. Obama will travel to Singapore for his first gathering⁹ of Pacific Rim leaders.  The meeting takes place under the auspices¹⁰ of APEC - the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum¹¹.

1 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

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 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 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。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

11 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。