VOA标准英语2009年-French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Promot

French President Nicolas Sarkozy begins a three-nation tour Thursday in Africa aimed to promote peace, democracy and French business interests. Mr. Sarkozy promised a new relationship with Africa, but experts say not much has changed.
　
Nicolas Sarkozy (file)

President Sarkozy is focusing on three francophone nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Niger. He will be talking politics, notably¹ peace in Congo Kinshasa where the government and Tutsi rebels just signed a peace agreement.

He will also advocate democracy, likely in Congo Brazzaville where the country's president is preparing for elections this summer. French officials reportedly say the visit should not be interpreted as endorsing² his campaign.

When he took office in 2007, Mr. Sarkozy vowed³ to break with France's past relationship with Africa. But Muzong Kodi, an analyst⁴ at the London-based think-tank Chatham House says that promise has not yet been realized.

"Nothing has changed actually. If you follow his discourse⁵ in the last few months, he has not broken with the tradition of France-Africa relations," Kodi said.

French business interest in Africa is another constant. Mr. Sarkozy is traveling with a high-level business delegation⁶. Kodi says In Brazzaville French officials will be looking for new oil supplies. In Niger, the French nuclear company Areva has recently signed a contract for uranium exploitation, and in Kinshasa France will be loooking at possibilities to invest in the telecommunications and hydropower sectors⁷.

African leaders are looking forward to Mr. Sarkozy's visit as well, and not just because of business possibilities.

"In Congo Brazzavile, the president is going to be standing⁸ for elections soon, so the visit of President Sarkozy may strengthen the president's hand. The same goes for Niger, where the president has been itching⁹ to change the constitution so that he could be re-elected. So the visit of the French president there may be interpreted as support," Kodi said.

France is facing growing competition for influence in Africa from China. But as Kodi points out, French ties on the continent stretch back decades.

1 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。

2 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 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。

5 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》