VOA标准英语2014--Obama to Reassure Asian Allies

 

Obama to Reassure¹ Asian Allies

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama begins a weeklong trip to Asia next Tuesday, in a bid to reassure allies in the region. Obama will travel to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.

China is not on the itinerary², but with its efforts to control parts of the East and South China Sea, Beijing is on the minds of Obama and the allies he is visiting. 

U.S. military cuts are making regional partners nervous about Washington's commitments to defend them.

“I'm confident President Obama will give bold rhetoric³, reassuring⁴ our allies that we can still run as fast and jump as high, but whether they believe that will be the other issue. Our allies, like our opponents, can read a budget sheet just as easily as the rest of us in Washington can,” said Heritage Foundation analyst⁵ Bruce Klingner.

The nations Obama is visiting have ongoing⁶ territorial⁷ disputes with China.

Defense⁸ Secretary Chuck Hagel has just been to China, and has said the U.S. does not view Beijing as an enemy.  But the administration sees China - with its growing military - as a potential threat. 

Washington's decisions to not attack Syrian forces or provide significant military support to Ukraine have raised questions about whether the U.S. would step in to defend its Asian allies.

“There’s obviously been a lot of talk about, questions, about the power and influence of the United States vis-à-vis actions in Syria and the Ukraine. But we’ll see, this effort is clearly meant to send the message that the United States remains⁹ committed and strong in Asia,” said Ely Ratner, an Asia analyst with the Center for a New American Security.

That message is especially important to Japan, the main U.S. ally in the region and where the president will make his first stop. There, Obama will work to speed up negotiations¹⁰ on the Trans-Pacific Partnership¹¹ regional trade agreement.  

Trade is also on the agenda at his next stop, South Korea, where he will discuss North Korea, and try to ease relations between Seoul and Tokyo. They are strained by the memory of Japanese atrocities¹² in the first half of the 20th century.

Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit Malaysia since 1966.

 

The last stop is the Philippines, where the U.S. closed its permanent bases decades ago, but has been in negotiations to rotate troops, airplanes and ships into the country.

1 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

2 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

5 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。

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 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 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。

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》