VOA标准英语2012--George W. Bush Focuses On Quiet Service After Presidency

 

George W. Bush Focuses On Quiet Service After Presidency¹

He worked alongside other volunteers in Kabwe - Zambia's second-largest city - to renovate² a health clinic which specializes in the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer.

“You're always the former president but I wanted to come here as a laborer³...I do want to say that on this particular trip that myself and friends have left behind a clinic and hope to inspire others to come and refurbish clinics as well,” Bush said.

Bush is helping⁴ lead the fight against cervical cancer in his post-presidential years and has so far helped raise more than $85 million. But he is a reluctant public spokesman for the cause and says he would prefer to contribute outside the media spotlight⁵.

“I hope you don't see much of it because I don't want to be in the news. In other words, I believe that quiet service is the best kind of service,” he said.

In Zambia, Bush and his wife Laura also visited an orphanage⁶ where many of the children were born with HIV. The children are alive today because of President Bush's 2003 AIDS initiative in Africa that provided billions of dollars for retroviral drugs and treatment. It is an emotional tour full of hugs and picture taking.

“I believe freedom is important for peace and I believe one aspect of freedom is people to be free from disease. And so Laura and I are very much involved in this initiative,” Bush said.

While Bush may prefer that his good work go unnoticed, he is following a familiar path that has helped refurbish the public image of other recent former presidents.

Former president Bill Clinton left office under a cloud for his affair with a White House intern⁷. But his involvement in good causes - like joining former president George Herbert Walker Bush to raise money for Asian tsunami⁸ relief in 2005 - helped rehabilitate⁹ his public image.

Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University, notes former president Jimmy Carter was not re-elected for another term, losing the 1980 election in a landslide¹⁰. But he says Carter is now held high esteem¹¹ by many for his work in promoting democracy and eradicating¹² guinea worm disease.

“Most observers believe that he was a much more successful former president than he was president of the United States, and of course was ultimately rewarded for all of this post-presidential activity with the Nobel Peace Prize,” Lichtman said.

In his post-presidential years George W. Bush seems be finding his role in quiet service and seems genuinely unconcerned about his place in history. 

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 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

3 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

7 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

10 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

11 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

12 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。