Clinton still plans to leave State Department

 Clinton still plans to leave State Department

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. government official reiterated¹ on Wednesday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still planned to step down from her current job of U.S. chief diplomat².

"I don't think the secretary's plans have changed," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a regular briefing.

"You've heard her say many times that she intends to see through a transition of a successor and then she will go back to private life and enjoy some rest, and think and write and all those things," the spokeswoman told reporters.

Clinton has repeatedly expressed her intention to step down from the position of secretary of state in January, 2013 when her four-year tenure³ ends. Some are speculating that the 65-year-old former first lady may run for president again in 2016. The speculation⁴ has been denied by Clinton.

1 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。