VOA标准英语 Obama Gets Largely Positive Reviews On Trip

U.S. President Barack Obama is getting generally positive reviews as he makes his first overseas trip as president.
　
U.S. President Barack Obama during a press conference at the end of the G20 Summit in London, 02 Apr 2009

As Mr. Obama made his international debut¹ on the world stage, an unmistakable change in tone and attitude emerged about how the United States will deal with the rest of the world. "I don't come bearing grand designs. I'm here to listen, to share ideas," he said.

Mr. Obama promised a new era of cooperation with U.S. allies abroad during last year's presidential election campaign. And the new president renewed that pledge at news conferences in London where he attended the G-20 summit Thursday and at a campaign-style town hall event in Strasbourg, France where he was preparing for the 60th anniversary NATO summit.

"America is changing, but it cannot be America alone that changes. We are confronting the greatest economic crisis since World War Two. The only way to confront this unprecedented² crisis is through unprecedented coordination," he said.

The president's first major trip abroad has dominated not only the U.S. news media, but international news coverage³ as well.

At a news conference in London, international journalists competed with one another to get the president's attention. "One correspondent not from America and then I will--(REPORTERS YELLING)--You know, we are not doing bidding here. Come on," he said.

First Lady Michelle Obama has also made a splash on the trip, whether meeting Queen Elizabeth or making an emotional visit to a girl's school in London. "All of you are jewels. You are precious and you touch my heart," he said.

To be sure, the coverage has not been universally positive. Some international journalists have described the president as aloof⁴, and significant differences remain with some U.S. allies over how to handle the international financial crisis and the war in Afghanistan.

But Weekly Standard Editor Fred Barnes says in general the coverage of President Obama's trip has been noteworthy. "I've been through presidential honeymoons⁵ and early periods before, but I don't think anybody has quite dominated the media and everything else the way he has," he said.

Barnes is a guest on VOA's Issues in the News program, as is veteran Washington correspondent Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News. "I thought that the commentary and the rhetoric⁶ of these leaders about Obama was gushing⁷ in the extreme, but it is another indication that everybody wants to bask⁸ in the reflected glory of the new guy, who is not George W. Bush," he said.

World leaders have been eager to talk to and be photographed with Mr. Obama during the trip.

Political analyst⁹ Richard Wolffe told VOA that world leaders want some of Mr. Obama's popularity to rub off on them. "They are doing that because he is popular with their own people, which means that they get some reflected glory at home, and that is where you get (political) leverage¹⁰, because this is an American leader who can speak over the heads of the domestic leaders, and that is powerful," he said.

Good reviews of the president's performance abroad could also bolster¹¹ his political standing¹² at home.

Pollster Peter Brown says that for now Americans seem patient as they await the result of the president's efforts to revive the ailing¹³ U.S. economy. "We asked, for instance, how voters felt about some of his programs and again, they are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt," he said.

Recent polls give President Obama an approval rating of between 58 and 64 percent, and some experts believe that number could rise depending on how the public reacts at the end of his overseas trip next week.

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

5 honeymoons   

蜜月( honeymoon的名词复数 )； 短暂的和谐时期； 蜜月期； 最初的和谐时期

参考例句：

• I suppose all honeymoons are more or less alike. 我想所有的蜜月多多少少都是相似的。
• Honeymoons are stupid things. 蜜月是乏味的事情。

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

9 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。

10 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

11 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 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。

13 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。