美国国家公共电台 NPR Wading Into Murky Waters, Trump Trip To Advocate Religious Unity

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

President Trump¹ begins his first overseas presidential trip tomorrow, and he has got an itinerary² that could be mistaken for a religious pilgrimage. His first stops are Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican. It's a bold move for a president to begin his foreign travel in the holy lands of three major faiths, and it is a trip fraught³ with risk, as NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

TOM GJELTEN, BYLINE⁴: White House aides say this first presidential trip is meant to reaffirm America's global leadership and strengthen relations with world leaders. But they also say Mr. Trump is looking to people of faith by starting in the centers of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Trump's U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, called this the amazing aspect of this trip.

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NIKKI HALEY: Think about that - three of the strongest religions. He's going to go and talk to them about where we can work together. And right now, the president understands we have to get unity⁶ across the world.

GJELTEN: Among those impressed by this approach is Robert Nicholson. He's the founder⁷ of the Philos Project, which promotes religious engagement in the Middle East.

ROBERT NICHOLSON: We think people do things only because of economics or because of some sort of political grievance⁸. But in actuality, religion drives huge numbers of people on this planet, and Trump understands that. And I don't think he knows exactly how to fix it, but I think he knows enough to recognize that religion matters.

GJELTEN: It's not an original thought. One oft-cited reason for the failure of the so-called Oslo process to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was that it neglected the importance of religion. A few years later, Christian⁵, Jewish and Muslim leaders mounted a peace effort on their own and agreed on a plan. Jonathan Sacks, who at the time was the chief rabbi for the United Kingdom, says it went nowhere because political leaders ignored it.

JONATHAN SACKS: These are huge achievements, but politicians don't seem to want to run with them.

GJELTEN: Sacks hopes Donald Trump can succeed where other politicians have failed.

SACKS: I think actually this is a bold initiative, one long overdue⁹, and, you know, it could just produce some interesting results.

GJELTEN: But it may take more than Donald Trump just visiting Saudi Arabia or Israel or Rome.

SERENE¹⁰ JONES: Just because you stand in a sacred place doesn't mean you hear sacred truths.

GJELTEN: Serene Jones is president of the Union Theological Seminary in New York.

JONES: He is obviously picking and choosing who he's going to hear about these religious traditions from. So clearly, this is more of a political trip than it is one seeking deep religious understanding.

GJELTEN: In fact, there are many ways this trip could go badly. Pope Francis is an outspoken¹¹ advocate of welcoming immigrants and refugees. Those positions could get in the way of a friendly chat in Rome. In Israel, Trump will have to choose his words carefully not to anger Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. And then there's Saudi Arabia. The White House says Trump will speak there about a peaceful vision of Islam. Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project says much could turn on that speech.

NICHOLSON: He needs to show that he respects Islam. For a long time, much of the conversation in the U.S. has been anything Muslim is bad. I think one of the most important things for him to do is to show that he understands that they have a long and ancient and distinguished¹² past and that he respects it.

GJELTEN: During his presidential campaign, Trump said, I think Islam hates us. Trump undoubtedly¹³ knows what he's up against, but he may also recognize the opportunity in this trip. And for the moment, at least, just the fact that he's willing to undertake such an ambitious effort could mean he'll get the benefit of the doubt along the way. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

3 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

9 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

10 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

11 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

12 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

13 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。