VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-06-12 Former President George H.W. Bush Turns 90

 

AS IT IS 2014-06-12 Former President George H.W. Bush Turns 90

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in the eastern state of Massachusetts on June 12, 1924.  

During World War II, at the age of 18, George Bush delayed entering college and joined the Navy.  He finished his training at the age of 19 and became the youngest Navy pilot in American history.

Mr. Bush was a brave pilot.  He was awarded many medals for his service in the Pacific during the war. 

In 1945, he married Barbara Pierce.  They had six children.  One of them, Pauline, died as a child.  Their oldest son, George, was elected the 43rd President of the United States.  Another son, John -- known as “Jeb” -- was elected governor of Florida.

In the 1950s, George Bush developed a successful oil business in Texas, and decided¹ to enter politics.  He became the Republican Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate in 1964, but lost the election.  In 1966, he was elected to the House of Representatives.  He served four years in Congress.

During the 1970s, Mr. Bush held several major government jobs, including working as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  He also served as America’s representative to China and head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

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In 1980, George Bush sought the Republican presidential nomination².  He eventually lost to Ronald Reagan, but was Reagan’s choice for vice-president.  Together, they served two four-year terms in office.

In 1988, Mr. Bush was the Republican candidate for president.  During the election campaign, he made some promises he would later regret.

“Read my lips.  No new taxes!”

Mr. Bush’s presidential campaign was successful.  He became the 41st U.S. president.

“And now we will move again for an America that is strong and resolute³ in the world, strong and big hearted at home and when I said, when I said, ‘I want a kinder, gentler nation,’ I meant it, and I mean it."

Mr. Bush became president during a period of great change in the world.  The Soviet⁴ Union was dying.  The 40-year-long Cold War was ending peacefully.  The Berlin Wall would soon fall.  The wall had separated West and East Berlin since 1961.  

In December of 1989, President Bush ordered thousands of troops into Panama to remove General Manuel Noriega from power.  Noriega was later jailed on drug trafficking charges.

Perhaps the most important event of George Bush’s presidency⁵ was Operation Desert Storm.  Mr. Bush helped to build an international coalition⁶ of more than 500-thousand soldiers from nearly 40 countries to answer Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

“The coalition will give Saddam Hussein until noon Saturday to do what he must do -- begin his immediate⁷ and unconditional⁸ withdrawal⁹ from Kuwait.”

The war ended quickly after an air attack and a short ground invasion.  Mr. Bush decided not to move troops toward Baghdad or to occupy any part of Iraq.

American University Professor Allan Lichtman is a presidential historian.

“Of course, we could defeat the Iraqi Army.  Of course, we could push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.  But what was difficult was getting the world behind us, including the Arab world, and that was the signal achievement of George H.W. Bush.”

Although Mr. Bush enjoyed great popularity after U.S. and allied¹⁰ troops removed Iraqi troops from Kuwait, the victory was not enough to keep him in office.  The American economy was worsening.  And he did not keep his promise of “no new taxes.”  This angered many of his conservative supporters.

He lost in his attempt to be re-elected to Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, a Democrat¹¹.  After losing the election, Mr. Bush retired¹² from politics. 

He has not been seen often, although he did parachute out of an airplane on his 80th birthday.  And he joined his former political opponent Bill Clinton to raise money for humanitarian¹³ causes.

He now spends much of his time with his family in Texas and at their summer home at Kennebunkport in the northeastern state of Maine.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。