VOA标准英语2008年-Obama to Visit Middle East, Europe Next Week

Reports from the Middle East say US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama will visit both Israel and the West Bank next week as part of a major foreign trip. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, other stops include Iraq, Afghanistan, and several European locations.
　
Sen. Barack Obama, 3 July 2008

The Obama campaign has released few details about the senator's forthcoming itinerary¹, but Israeli and Palestinian officials say Obama will meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

His Republican rival, Senator John McCain, took a similar trip to the Middle East and Europe in March, and has regularly visited Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust² Saddam Hussein.

Obama has been a fierce critic of the Bush administration's handling of foreign affairs, especially the Iraq war. Political analyst³ Larry Sabato, who heads the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says the upcoming trip is critical for a presidential aspirant⁴ with limited foreign policy credentials⁵.

"He is criticizing our [US] policy in Iraq. He needs to see it on the ground, and he has not been there [to Iraq] in years," he said. "It is important that he talk to the world leaders with whom he may very well be dealing⁶ come January [if elected president]."

Sabato describes the trip as a high-risk, high-reward opportunity for Obama, who could either quell⁷ voters' doubts about his command of foreign policy issues with a strong performance or amplify⁸ them with any miscues.

International public opinion polls show Obama with high approval ratings in many countries. Sabato says he expects Obama will get a warm reception at most stops on the trip, particularly in Europe. Foreign leaders will have their own agendas, knowing that they could be meeting with the next president of the United States, according to Sabato.

"They will want to get off on the right foot with him [Obama]," said Sabato. "They will want to impress him. They will want to educate him about bilateral⁹ relations, multilateral relations, and some of the issues with which he will have to deal if indeed he does become president."

Monday, Obama reiterated¹⁰ his determination to gradually withdraw US forces from Iraq should he win the election, and refocus US military efforts to target al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. In a column in the New York Times newspaper, Obama said he remains¹¹ convinced that real political progress in Iraq will be achieved only if America places a time limit on the duration of its troop commitment in the country, but admitted that "tactical adjustments" to the strategy may be needed based on advice from US commanders.

John McCain has blasted Obama for opposing last year's US troop surge that many credit for helping¹² bring a fragile stability to Iraq that could pave the way for future troop reductions. McCain has refused to embrace a timetable for withdrawing US forces from Iraq, saying to do so would embolden¹³ America's enemies.

 

1 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

2 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 aspirant   

n.热望者；adj.渴望的

参考例句：

• Any aspirant to the presidency here must be seriously rich.要想当这儿的主席一定要家财万贯。
• He is among the few aspirants with administrative experience.他是为数不多的几个志向远大而且有管理经验的人之一。

5 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

8 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。