2007年VOA标准英语-US State Department Announces Effort to Promote

By Jim Fry
Washington, DC
11 January 2007
 
watch Public Diplomacy¹ report

The U.S. State Department has announced a new award Wednesday that diplomats³ hope will encourage non-governmental groups to bolster⁴ America's image abroad.  The Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy will be given each year to a company, university or non-governmental agency.  The new effort comes as a worldwide poll shows  America's image abroad falling during most of this decade. 

In Brazil in November 2005, anti-American protesters burned American flags to welcome President Bush to their country. In Greece, antiwar groups clashed with police last April when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited with her Greek counterpart.

 
Karen Hughes (file photo)
At the State Department in Washington, public relations executives are gathered to give their advice on ways the private sector⁵ can help reverse the trend.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes says she welcomes reinforcements: "If ever our country needs your advice and communications knowledge and your great skill;  if ever there was a time for our country to bring together its very best talent, this is certainly it in the challenging times that we face."

 
Condoleezza Rice 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy -- naming it she says after the nation's first diplomat² dedicated⁶ to improving the world.

The purpose is to encourage good works abroad by American companies, universities and non-governmental agencies.

Secretary Rice says, "How you operate in the international arena⁷ has a real impact on America's presence in the world.  At the same time, your engagement with the world adds another dynamic to how people and countries across the globe learn about America's values."

A Pew Research Center report indicates just how much stature⁸ the U.S. has lost even among its western European allies. In 2000, up to eight in 10 Europeans held favorable opinions of the U.S.   That's dropped to just over half in Great Britain and under 40 percent in France and elsewhere. In Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, fewer than one third think favorably about America.

 
Madeleine Albright
A year and a half ago, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- citing the study --  blamed the war in Iraq:  "The war in Iraq is as unpopular as ever with majorities in ten countries that think the war in Iraq has made the world more dangerous."

But when the U.S. has rendered aid, as the military did two years ago to victims of the tsunami⁹ in Indonesia, America's public image briefly¹⁰ improved.

Hughes says America's image abroad is shaped by a complicated tapestry¹¹: "It's everything from our exported consumer goods to how Americans act when they travel abroad."

The PR executives will select the ten best ways the private sector can promote understanding and trust.   The ten best models could include corporate¹² giving and good works...but are not expected to touch on unpopular American policy such as the war in Iraq.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 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。

7 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

8 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

9 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。