【美国总统电台演说】2008-08-09

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Beijing, where I've come to support American athletes participating in the Olympic Games. This is a moment of pride for our Olympians and the great Nation they represent, and Laura and I are honored to share it with them.

In addition to attending the Olympics, my schedule includes meeting with China's President, dedicating a new U.S. embassy in Beijing, and worshiping at a local church. During my time here, I'm expressing America's deep concerns about freedom and human rights in China. This trip has reaffirmed my belief that men and women who aspire¹ to speak their conscience and worship their God are no threat to the future of China. They are the people who will make China a great nation in the 21st century.

One of the most striking parts of this trip is seeing how much China has changed. I first visited the country more than three decades ago, when my dad was America's representative in Beijing. Poverty was rampant², and the streets swarmed³ with bicycles. Today, China is sprinting⁴ into the modern era. Beijing is covered in skyscrapers⁵ and filled with cars. And the people of China have more connections to the world than ever before.
These changes present the Chinese people, the American people, and the world with tremendous opportunities. So over the past eight years, America has sought to put our relationship with China on a more solid and principled footing. We've advanced both our nations' interests by expanding free and fair trade and encouraging the rise of a Chinese middle class -- which can be an enormous market for American exports. We have also cooperated on other shared challenges, from fighting pandemic disease to opposing North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

At the same time, America has spoken candidly⁷ and consistently about our concerns over the Chinese government's behavior. We have made it clear that trusting their people with greater freedom is necessary for China to reach its full potential. We've emphasized that being a global economic leader carries with it the duty to act responsibly on matters from energy to the environment to development in Africa.

Only China can decide what course it will follow, but I'm optimistic about the prospects⁸. Young people who grow up with freedom in one area of their lives will ultimately demand freedom in other areas. The China of the future will reflect its own culture and traditions, but it will also reflect the universal aspirations⁹ of mankind -- and there's no deeper human desire than liberty.

America's relationship with China is one element of our broader strategy for the region. When I took office, I brought a clear conviction that America is a Pacific Nation, and our engagement with Asia should be stronger than ever before. We've acted on that conviction by pursuing four broad objectives: We bolstered¹⁰ all five of our treaty alliances in the Asia Pacific region -- Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and two countries I visited this week, South Korea and Thailand.

We have strengthened our relationships with other free societies in Asia -- including India, the world's largest democracy, and Indonesia, a democratic nation that is home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth. We have seized opportunities for prosperity by negotiating new free trade agreements, including an historic agreement with South Korea -- an agreement which our United States Congress must pass. And we helped bring together nations throughout the Asia Pacific to fight terrorism, seek an end to tyranny in Burma, respond to natural disasters, and address other challenges to our people and our prosperity.

My trips to Asia as President have brought many uplifting moments. One of the most moving came this week in Seoul, when I spoke⁶ to American troops at the Yongsan Garrison¹¹. These men and women are carrying the burdens of military life far from home. Yet in their faces you can see a quiet pride that comes from having an important job, and doing it right. These brave Americans are preserving peace, and they're sending a broader message about our approach toward Asia. Now, and always, the United States will keep our word to our friends. We will stand confidently for liberty. And we will advance our Nation's interests and ideals by staying engaged in this pivotal part of the world.

Thank you for listening.

1 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

2 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

3 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

4 sprinting   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步长和步频是短跑最重要的因素。 来自互联网
• Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在学校运动会上夺得了短跑金牌。 来自互联网

5 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

6 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。

7 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

10 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

11 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。