VOA常速英语2019--第一夫人与特朗普：道不同却相为谋

Melania Trump¹ is taking aim at cyber-bullying² and other problems facing children today. My focus has always would be on our children, the next generation. They are our future doctors, nurses, firefighters, scientists, teachers, chefs, generals, pilots, designers, reporters and missionaries³ just to name a few. The first lady can be in a working group of agencies that work on issues affecting the nation’s youth at the White House Monday. This group was established under President George W Bush and includes government officials and others with ideas and the clout⁴ to help children. Melania Trump hopes to use the group to enhance her Be Best campaign which she launched last meet to promote the well-being⁵ of children and to combat opioid abuse and online bullying. Her initiative is good right. On on its face, it’s good. Content wise it’s good. It’s just that it’s a little jarring against the president that her husband is.

梅拉尼娅·特朗普着手应对网络欺凌等当代儿童面临的诸多问题。我的关注点一直都是我们的孩子，我们的下一代。他们未来会是医生、护士、消防员、科学家、教师、厨师、将军、飞行员、设计师、记者、和传教士等等。第一夫人参与了一个由多家机构组成的工作组，该工作组关注的问题是影响美国青少年的问题，会议地点在白宫，时间是周一。该工作组是由小布什总统创建的，组员还有政府官员等人，他们通过自己的想法和影响力来帮助儿童。第一夫人希望通过该工作组来夯实她倡导的Be Best活动，该活动是她上次会晤时发起的，目的是为儿童谋福祉，以及打击阿片类药物滥用和网络欺凌。她的活动是好的，形式和内容都不错。只是与她丈夫的为人有些冲突。

First Lady’s initiatives usually help promote the administration’s goals, but critics point out that Melania Trump’s effort is undermined by the president’s combative⁶ behavior on social media. On Monday, President Trump was tweeting about former Vice⁷ President Joe Biden, a potential rival in the 2020 election, calling him a low IQ individual. The President himself is one of the biggest bullies⁸ in the world. He prides himself on it. That all he knows how to do is attack. Trump also blasted the quote fake news media for blaming him for the New Zealand mosque⁹ shooting. The suspect espoused¹⁰ white supremacist ideas and mentioned Trump in his manifesto¹¹. There’s a tremendous responsibility of our leaders to denounce the kind of hate that we see increasingly in society, in extreme examples, in mass shootings, but also just an everyday political rhetoric¹². I feel like it’s irresponsible not to call this kind of hate what it is and to address it head-on.

第一夫人发起的活动通常都有助于美国政府各项目标的实现，但有评论家指出梅拉尼娅·特朗普的努力受到了其丈夫在社交媒体上攻击性言论的损害。周一，特朗普发推文的内容与前副总统乔·拜登有关，此人是2020年总统大选的最大对手之一。特朗普在推文中称此人低智商。特朗普总统本人就是世界上最大的恶霸之一，他还引以为豪。他只知道进攻他人。特朗普还炮轰了他口中的虚假新闻，新闻指责特朗普是新西兰清真寺枪击案的罪魁祸首。该案嫌疑人信奉白人至上主义，还曾在声明中提到过特朗普。我们的各位领导人肩负着重大的责任，应该谴责我们在社会里愈发频繁看到的仇恨情绪。这种仇恨情绪的极端形式包括大规模枪击。领导人还需要每天通过政治辞令来应对这个问题。我认为，不负责的行为是不正视仇恨行为，也不直接应对仇恨行为。

Despite criticism, Melania Trump is moving forward. There is always an opportunity to do more and today’s meeting is a start. The first lady’s office said her Be Best campaign will promote government resources available for youth and families.

虽然面临苛责之声，梅拉尼娅还在不断前进。我们永远有机会做的更多，今天的会议就是一个开始。第一夫人办公室称，梅拉尼娅的Be Best运动将促进青少年和各家庭可用的政府资源。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

5 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

6 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

9 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

10 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

12 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。