2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Begins Trip to Europe, Middle East

By Scott Stearns
Tallinn
27 November 2006

President George W. Bush waves while boarding Air Force One, 27 Nov 2006

U.S. President George Bush has arrived in Estonia, the start of a trip to Europe and the Middle East that will focus on conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story from the Estonian capital Tallinn.

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This is the first visit to Estonia by a U.S. president, and White House officials say it will focus largely on common economic and security issues.

America is Estonia's eleventh largest trading partner and second only to Russia among nations outside the European Union. Estonia has backed U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq by contributing troops to both conflicts. Its troops also serve in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Bosnia.

Mr. Bush begins his visit here Tuesday in talks with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. The two men will take questions from reporters before having lunch at the Estonian National Opera House.

President Bush then flies to neighboring Latvia for a meeting with President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. Mr. Bush will speak at an international conference at the University of Latvia on the future of the NATO alliance before a working dinner with NATO leaders.

The NATO summit is expected to be dominated by Afghanistan, where the alliance has taken charge of the international force backing the government of Hamid Karzai.

With 11 countries outside the NATO alliance participating in the Afghan mission, President Bush wants a longer-term commitment from alliance members to better integrate some non-NATO members into alliance planning.

At the Latvian summit, NATO leaders are expected to invite Japan, Australia, South Korea, Sweden, and Finland to cooperate more closely on training, including special operations forces.

Bush Administration officials say the president will also urge some member states to increase their defense¹ spending and loosen restrictions² on where their troops serve in Afghanistan and what functions they perform.

Following Latvia, President Bush flies to Jordan for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. U.S. National Security Adviser³ Stephen Hadley says the Bush Administration is not looking for what he calls a "big, bold announcement" from those talks.

Instead, the two men will discuss a joint⁴ commission established to speed the transfer of more responsibility to the Iraqi government and how regional states can better support it.

Jordanian King Abdullah says strong action is needed to prevent a further deterioration⁵ of security in the Middle East. In an American television interview Sunday, he warned of three potential civil wars in the Middle East - Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。