VOA标准英语2009年-Sweden Takes Over European Union Presidenc

Sweden took over the rotating European Union presidency¹, Wednesday, following a troubled six-month tenure² under the Czech Republic that saw Prague's government collapse³. Stockholm faces big challenges ahead - from tackling the economy to climate change.
　
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (L) welcomed by Sweden's PM Fredrik Reinfeldt in front of Stockholm City Hall, 01 Jul 2009

Analysts⁵ are hailing the new Swedish presidency of the European Union as bringing stability to the 27-member bloc⁶ in troubled times. The previous Czech presidency was a particularly rocky one, marked by the collapse of Prague's government and internal power divisions - with Czech President Vaclav Klaus a prominent Euroskeptic.

Analyst⁴ Philip Whyte, of the Center for European Reform in London, sums up the sentiments of many observers.

"I think the overall assessment⁷ of the Czech presidency is that it was a relatively⁸ chaotic⁹ one, although in fairness to the Czechs, they had a pretty horrible legacy," he said. "They took over from the French and when they took over from the French, the French President [Nicolas] Sarkozy almost looked as if he was continuing France's presidency of the EU. It was a difficult transition. And, the Czech presidency was obviously affected¹⁰ by political instability, with the government collapsing¹¹."

The Swedes will not have an easy ride. On their plate is the fate of a key EU reform charter, known as the Lisbon Treaty. Irish voters are expected to approve the treaty during a referendum in October, after rejecting it the first time. But, if they reject it a second time, the EU will plunge¹² into crisis.

The bloc is also trying to figure out how to fund ambitious promises to tackle climate change and to coax¹³ big carbon-dioxide emitters like the United States and China to make more cuts before a key climate change summit in December.

Whyte says the economic crisis tops the priority list.

"First of all, it's obviously got the economic context and the trouble is the EU presidencies¹⁴ don't really have very much power to deal with that because a lot of the economic instruments are in the hands of national governments," he said.

Still, Whyte believes Sweden will do a good job heading the EU. In addition to having a stable government, Stockholm is known as being consensus-oriented and favoring an outward looking and economically liberal European Union - qualities, he says will be appreciated at the EU headquarters in Brussels.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 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。

5 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。

6 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

12 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

13 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

14 presidencies   

n.总统的职位( presidency的名词复数 )；总统的任期

参考例句：

• The Dalai Lama previously visited the island during the presidencies of Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui. 曾经获得诺贝尔和平奖的达赖喇嘛，此前曾在李登辉和陈水扁主政期间访问台湾。 来自互联网