VOA标准英语2009年-Japanese PM First Foreign Leader to Visit Presi

Japan's Prime Minister Taro¹ Aso will meet Tuesday with President Barrack Obama. He will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the new administration took office last month.
　
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during session at World Economic Forum² in Davos, Switzerland, 31 Jan 2009

Japan has been getting a lot of attention from the newly inaugurated Obama administration. Just last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made Tokyo her first stop on a week-long tour of Asia. And now Prime Minister Taro Aso is headed to Washington to meet with the American president.

Most analysts⁴ believe the Obama-Aso summit is largely symbolic⁵. There is a sense in Tokyo the White House will overlook Japan, in favor of improving relations with China.

Masaru Nishikawa, research fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs, explains the public's skepticism.

"Obama's administration is a little bit ignorant or probably they tend to ignore the Japanese and Japanese government. Obama is trying to restore some kind of interest and confidence of Japanese people. I think that is his aim, Nishikawa said."

There is a lot for the two leaders to discuss during their summit. Washington wants Japan to dispatch solders⁶ to the war in Afghanistan. There are also the stalled six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear-weapons program.

And both the United States and Japan have been badly hit by the global economic crisis. Tokyo announced recently that the economy here is in its worst shape since the end of the Second World War.

Analyst³ Nishikawa says the world's two largest economies need each other now more than ever to cope with this recession.

"Now the ongoing⁷ crisis all over the world is not the problem, that one country can deal with, it is too big to solve by only one country, so probably need some cooperation, especially from Japan," said Nishikawa.

But the Obama-Aso partnership⁸ may not last long. Prime Minister Aso's approval rating has slipped to about 10 percent. It is widely believed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will lose its decades-long control to the opposition⁹ during upcoming parliamentary elections.

No matter what the outcome of his trip to Washington, Mr. Aso looks set to be Japan's third consecutive¹⁰ prime minister to serve in office for less than one year.

1 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

2 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。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 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。

5 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。

6 solders   

n.焊料，焊锡( solder的名词复数 )v.（使）焊接，焊合( solder的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We fused the pipes with solders. 我们用焊锡熔接管子。 来自辞典例句
• Solders ate a great number of potatoes during World War II. 第二次世界大战期间的士兵吃了很多的土豆。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。