2006年VOA标准英语-Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's A

By Nico Gnecchi
Nairobi
27 August 2006
 

U.S. Senator Barack Obama, right, walks with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama at his father's house in Nyongoma Kogelo village, western Kenya, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006

U.S. Senator Barak Obama delighted crowds with a homecoming speech Saturday in his family's ancestral village of Nyangoma Kogelo, Nyanza province, in western Kenya.  The Senator made time to visit his grandmother and other family members, while on an unofficial six-day tour of regional development and AIDS projects in Kenya.

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The Illinois Senator began his tour of western Kenya on Saturday morning by taking a voluntary HIV test in Nyanza General Hospital to encourage an AIDS prevention campaign in the highly affected¹ region. He then received a joyous² reception from thousands of people at a primary school in his late father's village.

Senator Obama, who grew up in the United States, traces his father's origins to the small and humble³ village close to the shores of Lake Victoria in Eastern Africa.

In his speech to well-wishers, Obama expressed a deep sense of solidarity⁴ with this small community and the Kenyan people. He said his father's remarkable⁵ life is the story of what is possible when a community comes together to support its children.

"He grew up around here. He was taking care of goats for my grandfather, and, maybe, sometimes, he would go to a school not so different from the Senator Barak Obama School," he said. "Except, maybe, it was smaller, and had even less in terms of equipment and books, the teachers were paid even less, and, sometimes, there wasn't enough money to go to school full time. Yet, despite all that, the community lifted him up, and gave him the opportunity to go to secondary school, then go to university in America, then get a Ph. D. in Harvard..."

Obama is only the fifth African-American to ever sit in the U.S. Senate, and his trip to Kenya has been highly anticipated by his relatives, the community and local politicians.

He has also used his personal connection to Kenya to challenge the country's leaders about good governance and fighting corruption⁶. He warned that aid packages alone will not deliver development, and said the key to Kenya's success will come from its own people.

The Senator's wife and children were by his side, as he gave his commitment to help make sure that children around the world will have an equal chance for higher education and wider opportunities.

"That's why I'm so dedicated⁷ to trying to make sure that our young people, in Kenya, in the United States, in the Congo, all children can be well, all children can get the medicines that they need, all children have the opportunity to study, and, ultimately, get employment, so that they in turn can support a family, that all children have that same opportunity," continued Obama. "There is no reason why we can't do that. We have enough resources. We have the knowledge. We have the technology. What we lack is the commitment and will."

Obama has been on a five-nation tour of Africa, taking time to visit his father's home and relatives in western Kenya. This is his third visit to Kenya since the death of his father, Hussein Obama. All of Nyanza province helped prepare the heroes welcome that included T-shirts, baseball caps and even a local drink named after the celebrated⁸ senator.

Senator Obama is devoted⁹ to fighting HIV/AIDS and has made a personal donation of $14,000 to an AIDS orphan¹⁰ care facility in Kenya. He is also committed to making Africa a top priority in American foreign policy.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。