VOA标准英语 Obama: No One Country Can Fix Economic Crisis

U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown are calling for global unity¹ as world leaders gather in London for an emergency economic summit. The two leaders downplayed differences on steps to reverse the current economic slide.
　
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands following a news conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth² Office in London, 01 Apr 2009

The president says no one country can fix the economic crisis.

Speaking just hours before the start of the G20 meeting of major economies, Mr. Obama stressed the need for all participants to seek common ground.

"I am absolutely confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus³ about the need to work together to deal with these problems," said Mr. Obama.

Tension precedes summit start

But there are signs of tension, as the G20 summit prepares to begin its work in London. Some countries are blaming the United States for sparking the economic crisis through the deregulation of its financial scene - a move that led to a credit crunch⁴ and sparked an economic recession.

The president says the United States has made mistakes, but so too did other countries whose regulatory systems could not keep pace with a changing financial sector⁵. He says it is time to look for solutions.

"At this point, I am less interested in identifying blame, than in fixing the problem," he said.

President says differences are overstated

At home, Mr. Obama has focused on government spending to jump-start the economy and he was expected to urge other nations to take similar steps at the economic summit.

France and Germany have balked⁶ at such action, saying the emphasis should be on regulatory reform. French President Nicholas Sarkozy even told an interviewer that he might walk out of the summit, if nations fail to agree on stricter regulation of global financial markets.

Brown predicts no walkouts

President Obama says reports of differences are overstated. And, Prime Minister Brown predicts no one will walk away from the summit and its important work.

"I am confident President Sarkozy will not be here for the first course of our dinner, but will still be sitting as we complete our dinner this evening," said Mr. Brown.

Mr. Brown says everyone knows the stakes are high.

"Never before has the world come together in this way to talk about an economic crisis," he said. " Any of the crises we have seen since the second World War, you have not had this level of international cooperation."

Obama agenda packed on first overseas trip

On his first European tour as president, Barack Obama is seeking cooperation on both the economic and security front as he holds bilateral⁷ talks on the sidelines of the London summit.

His discussions with Gordon Brown also covered the new American strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran and the search for Middle East peace.

At their joint⁸ news conference, Mr. Obama also talked about efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons - an issue that is topping the agenda for his discussions here with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

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 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 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。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。