VOA标准英语2013--分析家称德国选举不会影响与美关系

 

Analysts¹: German Vote Will Not Affect Relations With US 分析家称德国选举不会影响与美关系

WASHINGTON — German voters will cast ballots² on Sunday to select a new federal government. Chancellor³ Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian⁴ Democratic Union party is predicted to win the most votes, and she is likely to have a third consecutive⁵ term in office.

Analysts say the outcome of the German elections will have little effect on the country's alliance with the United States. Some Germans are worried, however, that a new U.S. focus on Asia could adversely⁶ affect their country, and Europe as a whole.

华盛顿——德国选民将在周日投票选举一个新的联邦政府。德国总理安格拉?默克尔的中间偏右政党基督教民主联盟预计赢得大多数选票,而且她很可能迎来第三个总统任期。

分析人士说,选举结果将不会影响德国与美国的联盟。

During a recent visit to Washington, German parliament member Hans-Ulrich Klose said that as the United States turns its attention to Asia, the European Union will have to make more of an effort to resolve its own economic and political problems.

“So far, Europeans have had a good living knowing that if there are difficulties in Europe or the European periphery⁷, be it in the south or be it in the east, the United States will be ready not only to assist, but also to take a lead and help us to overcome these difficulties,” said Klose. He said the U.S. “pivot” to Asia could weaken trans-Atlantic commerce, which accounts for nearly half of all global trade.

Europe's 'neighborhood'

But Klaus Larres, professor of international relations at the University of  North Carolina, said Europe has no reason for concern.

“The Europeans themselves are looking increasingly toward China - and Asia [in general] - to sell their products. And we also know that the successful export industry of Germany would not be as successful without exporting to China and Asia and India and Brazil, and similar countries.”

Analysts agree, though, that Europeans will have to pay closer attention to what is happening in their immediate⁸ neighborhood.

“Which is quite something to realize, because our neighborhood is Northern Africa and our neighborhood is the Middle East, that for good reasons we call Near East because it is pretty close to us," Klose said. "And what's going on there is of immediate relevance⁹ to us and, of course, we are interested in what's going on."

As Europe’s strongest economy, Germany is sometimes expected to take the lead in the continent’s foreign policy. Larres said German politicians, including Merkel, have been hesitant to take political and military leadership of Europe, for fear of evoking¹⁰ the specter of Nazi¹¹ Germany.

"Many people call on her [Merkel] and say: you have to give a big visionary pro-European speech. And I think we will wait in vain for that because she probably does not have a deep enthusiasm herself [for it], and secondly¹², she does not want to estrange¹³ any part of the population who wouldn’t like that sort of speech," said Larres.

But analysts say Germans have no problem taking the lead of Europe’s economy. And Merkel has shown no hesitation¹⁴ in imposing¹⁵ unpopular measures to save Europe's common currency.

Larres said most German politicians deeply believe in a strong and united Europe, as does the United States. And he said both countries will benefit from expanding ties with Asia. 

1 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。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

6 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

7 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

10 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

11 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

12 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

13 estrange   

v.使疏远，离间，使离开

参考例句：

• His behaviour estrange him from his brother.他的行为使他与哥哥疏远了。
• Madeleine was not trying to estrange her from the Herzogs.马德琳无意要使她和赫索格家的人疏远。

14 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

15 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。