VOA标准英语2009年-France's Sarkozy Will Leave Mixed Legacy as EU

On New Year's Day France hands over the rotating European Union presidency¹ to the Czech Republic, ending one of the most eventful six-month tenures ever as head of the 27-member bloc³.
　

Nicolas Sarkozy (file)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is known as a man of action - and he had plenty of issues to act on during France's six months at the helm of the European Union. France's agenda initially⁴ included launching a new European-Mediterranean partnership⁵ including North African and Middle Eastern nations, and to advance the Lisbon Treaty to reform the 27-member EU.

But unforeseen events worked to shape the French presidency into one of the most dynamic in EU history. First came the brief war between Russia and Georgia in August. President Sarkozy went to both capitals to secure a cease-fire agreement.

Then came the financial and economic crises. Mr. Sarkozy called for a European summit for figure out a common strategy to tackle the meltdown - and pushed for a larger summit of the world's top economic powers in Washington.

In a farewell address to the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg earlier this month, Mr. Sarkozy dwelt on his tenure² as EU president.
　

From left: European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British PM Gordon Brown, and EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, in Paris, 12 Oct 2008

The French leader said he had learned tolerance⁶ and a certain overture⁷ in trying to address the problems of 27 nations. He had tried to change Europe, he said, but Europe had changed him. And he said the European Union was more necessary now than ever.

A number of diplomats⁸ and pundits⁹ have praised Mr. Sarkozy's energy, including European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Philip Whyte, a senior analyst¹⁰ at the Center for European Reform in London, also gives the French president good marks.

"I think Sarkozy on the whole has done quite a good job," he says. "Sarkozy is not someone who has a particularly coherent ideological¹¹ view of the world. He's really a man of action rather than a man of ideas. And because he's a man of action, he's actually brought to the EU a lot of the energies that were needed at this current point in time."

Some analysts¹² actually wonder whether Sarkozy has left a lasting¹³ mark on the role of an EU president because he has been so active these past six months. Earlier in December, he also managed to secure EU agreement on a climate change plan considered the most far-reaching to date. Still, the final deal was watered down.

"Maybe he's tried to fill a real political role, to show he's a political leader. It's not sure he succeeded in that field because on many issues he didn't get a major outcome," says French analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges. "One example, the climate/energy package. It's clear that agreement is not an historical agreement, it's just adding the 27 national visions."
　

German Chancellor14 Angela Merkel (File)

Mr. Sarkozy's authoritative¹⁵ style has also managed to ruffle¹⁶ feathers - notably¹⁷ that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"The Franco-German relationship has always been the key relationship within the EU," says analyst Philip Whyte. "But I think Sarkozy's approach to diplomacy¹⁸ has always riled the Germans. And I think the personal relationship between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy is at an all-time low."

Mr. Sarkozy has scored political points at home. A poll earlier this month found 56 percent of French approved of his EU presidency. His popularity has also risen compared to earlier this year, when many French disapproved¹⁹ of his lifestyle and his tough reform policies.

But analyst Defarges points out that many French are more interested in issues facing them at home - notably the moribund²⁰ economy and unemployment - than the European Union.

As for Mr. Sarkozy - he may be ending his European presidency, but he appears intent on keeping France a major world player.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

7 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。

8 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》

9 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

14 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

15 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

16 ruffle   

v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边

参考例句：

• Don't ruffle my hair.I've just combed it.别把我的头发弄乱了。我刚刚梳好了的。
• You shouldn't ruffle so easily.你不该那么容易发脾气。

17 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

18 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。

19 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 moribund   

adj.即将结束的，垂死的

参考例句：

• The moribund Post Office Advisory Board was replaced.这个不起作用的邮局顾问委员会已被替换。
• Imperialism is monopolistic,parasitic and moribund capitalism.帝国主义是垄断的、寄生的、垂死的资本主义。