2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Opens White House Briefing Room

By Scott Stearns
White House
11 July 2007

President Bush has re-opened a newly renovated¹ press briefing room at the White House.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns was there.

President Bush cuts the ribbon in a ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, 11 July 2007

In a part of the White House where dogs once lived, laundry dried, and presidents swam in a green tiled pool, reporters returned to a new, high-tech² briefing room following an $8 million renovation³.

The pool is still there, only now it is full of racks of electronics and more than 500 miles of cable.  Flat-screen televisions and robotic cameras have been added, along with Internet access at each of the wider, softer seats.

It is the most extensive overhaul⁴ since President Richard Nixon tried to move reporters out of the building in 1969. 

White House Correspondents' Association President Steve Scully recalls that Mr. Nixon relented only after fierce complaints by reporters, including veteran columnist⁵ Helen Thomas who has returned to her seat of honor in the front row.

"They argued that in order for us to do our job, we needed to be here - just a few feet from the Oval Office and even closer to the White House press secretary.  And nowhere else is there a working press office this close to the head of state," Scully said.

That is not always a comfortable relationship for American presidents.  Welcoming reporters back to the briefing room, Mr. Bush said he missed them, sort of.

"The relationship between the president and the press is a unique relationship and it is a necessary relationship," he said. "I enjoy it.  I hope you do.  As I say, sometimes you do not like the decisions I make, and sometimes I do not like the way you write about the decisions.  But nevertheless, it is a really important part of our process, and the fact that you were working in substandard conditions just was not right."

Gone are the rats in the basement, the chipping plaster, the broken desks, and moldy⁶ carpets after heavy rains.  No longer do photographers' ladders crowd the aisle⁷ and telephone wires hang from the ceiling under condensation⁸ from air conditioning vents⁹.

A new central air system has made the facility much cooler, so much so that the president says a fellow like him would feel comfortable coming in to answer a few questions without sweating-off 20 pounds.  But apparently¹⁰ not comfortable enough to take questions on the room's fist day.

"Let me cut the ribbon, are you going to cut it with me, Steve?  And then why don't you all yell simultaneously¹¹, like really loudly, and that way you might get noticed," Mr. Bush said. "I will like listen, internalize, play like I am going to answer the question, and then smile at you and just say, 'Gosh, thanks.  Thanks for such a solid, sound question.'"

Some construction remains¹² on the briefing room and reporters' work space. 

The official opening was itself an accomplishment¹³, as less than 24 hours earlier, drop cloths covered the new leather seats as painters touched-up door frames and workers drilled through fresh plaster, scattering¹⁴ dust over the white stars under the podium.

1 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

2 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

3 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

4 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

5 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

6 moldy   

adj.发霉的

参考例句：

• She chucked the moldy potatoes in the dustbin.她把发霉的土豆扔进垃圾箱。
• Oranges can be kept for a long time without going moldy.橙子可以存放很长时间而不腐烂。

7 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

8 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

9 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

14 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》