VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Holds Town Hall in India, Flies

On the second full day of his three day visit to India, President Barack Obama conducted a "Town Hall" meeting with students at a Catholic college in the financial center, Mumbai. Mr. Obama and his wife Michelle then flew on to New Delhi for talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
After announcing billions of dollars worth of new business deals with India the previous day, and visiting the former home of India's independence hero Mohandas Gandhi, the president and the first lady visited the Holy Name High School in Mumbai.
There they watched a candle-lighting ceremony and watched a folk dance performance for Diwali, the five-day Festival of Lights.
But the Obamas were observers for only a short time before youngsters urged first Michelle Obama and then the president into the dance. Later, the Obamas moved on to St. Xavier College, a Catholic college in Mumbai. In a Town Hall meeting with students, the president employed some of the same personal connection techniques he uses back home in the United States.
Mr. Obama had this advice for a young man who asked about core moral values versus¹ materialism². "I don't want any young person here to be dismissive of a healthy materialism because in a country like India, there are still a lot of people trapped in poverty, and you should be working to try to lift folks out of poverty, and companies and businesses have a huge role in making that happen," Mr. Obama said.
The president was introduced by Michelle Obama who spoke³ about Indian and American students studying in each other's countries, and urged the audience to ask the president tough questions. The president also toured expositions at the college dealing⁴ with agriculture, and open government and technology.
U.S. officials say these visits underscore Mr. Obama's commitment to using technology to advance principles of open government and further citizen empowerment and accountability.
The president viewed a demonstration⁵ of a new system called "e-Panchayat", a new effort to enable people in the more than 400 local districts across India to obtain and share information. The Obamas then flew to New Delhi for a dinner hosted by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife. On Monday they visit Raj Ghat, the memorial that marks the spot of Gandhi's cremation⁶ in 1948.
Bilateral⁷ talks with Prime Minister Singh will cover the revitalized economic relationship the two are trying to forge, and issues such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mr. Obama will also meet with other Indian political and opposition⁸ leaders.
Prime Minister Singh and President Obama hold a joint⁹ news conference before Mr. Obama addresses India's parliament Monday evening, nearing the end of the longest visit he has made so far as president to a foreign country.

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。

3 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。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。