女强人:默克尔执政十年

 　　Angela Merkel took over Germany's top office from Gerhard Schroeder in 2005. She was the first woman to hold the office as well as the first chancellor¹ to have come from the former communist East Germany. When she took over, Germany was in a very different place. Over 5 million people were out of work and many wondered whether Europe's largest economy was headed in the wrong direction.

　　However, 10 years later, the unemployment rate is half of what it was, and the country is the unquestioned economic and political leader of the European Union. Over the past two years, Merkel has been Europe's key player in trying to broker² peace in Ukraine. She also was a central figure in negotiating a controversial third bailout with the Greek government, which allowed that country to stay in the Eurozone.

　　But perhaps her signature moment of the past 10 years was opening Germany's borders to all those fleeing Syria who have arrived in Germany seeking asylum³. At a recent congress of her center right party, she spoke⁴ of the importance of addressing the root causes of migration⁵ and working closely with other countries like Turkey.

　　女强人:德国总理默克尔执政十年

　　"Dear friends, in this way, we can reduce the number of asylum seekers. Not by unilaterally imposing⁶ an upper limit nationally on the number of refugees. THAT is in everyone's interest."

　　Not everyone sees it that way though. Merkel's approval ratings have hit their lowest point in four years. And at the same event, on the same stage, the leader of her sister party, Horst Seehofer the Minister President of Bavaria, struck back at Merkel's policies.

　　"We do not need a welcoming culture, but a culture of reason. And our faith... our Christian⁷ faith, is not, dear friends, as opposed to this reason. "No one can be forced to shoulder more than they can carry"

　　If Merkel can survive the current refugee crisis though, the 61 year old Chancellor remains⁸ the favorite to win another term in 2017.

　　For CRI, I'm Ira Spitzer in Berlin.

1 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。

2 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。