布什结束欧洲之行演讲(2008-06-11)

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Im just about to leave for Europe. Im looking forward to my trip. Im looking forward to meeting with our friends and allies. Weve got strong relations in Europe, and this trip will help solidify¹ those relations. And we got a lot to talk about.

First, Im looking forward to talking about the freedom agenda with the European nations. Got a lot of work to do in Afghanistan. The countries Im going to have committed troops to Afghanistan, and, of course, want to thank them, and remind them theres a lot of work to be done.

 I talked to Laura yesterday, who, as you now know, took a trip to Afghanistan. I want to thank her for going. She gave me a good assessment² about what she saw. She saw progress, but she also saw there needs to be a lot of work to be done -- theres a lot of work to be done. And so shes going to go to the Paris Conference, along with Secretary Rice, on our behalf to ask nations to contribute to the development of Afghanistan, which will mean theyll be contributing to peace.

Then, of course, well be talking about the economy. A lot of Americans are concerned about our economy. I can understand why. Gasoline prices are high; energy prices are high. I do remind them that we have put a stimulus³ package forward that is expected to help boost the economy. And of course, well be monitoring the situation.

Well remind our friends and allies overseas that were all too dependent on hydrocarbons⁴. We must work to advance technologies to help us become less dependent on hydrocarbons. Ill also remind them, though, that the United States has an opportunity to help increase the supply of oil on the market, therefore, taking pressure off gasoline for hardworking Americans, and that Ive proposed to the Congress that they open up ANWR, open up the Continental⁵ Shelf, and give this country a chance to help us through this difficult period by finding more supplies of crude oil, which will take the pressure off the price of gasoline.

These are global issues well be discussing. Secretary Paulson will be also discussing issues at the G8 -- the G8 ministers in Japan this week.

As well, Ill talk about our nations commitment to a strong dollar. A strong dollar is in our nations interests. It is in the interests of the global economy. Our economy is large and its open and flexible. Our capital markets are some of the deepest and most liquid. And the long-term health and strong foundation of our economy will shine through and be reflected in currency values.

The U.S. economy has continued to grow in the face of unprecedented⁶ challenges. We got to keep our economies flexible; both the U.S. economy and European economies need to be flexible in order to deal with todays challenges.

Im looking forward to my trip and Im looking forward to seeing Laura. Thank you.

1 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

4 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。