VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Departs After Surprise Visit to

U.S. President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Sunday where he met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and rallied U.S. troops serving in the war-torn country.  During his visit, which lasted less than six hours, the president praised Afghan efforts to secure the country and pressed the Afghanistan's leader to improve governance and crack down on corruption².

Mr. Obama's first trip to Afghanistan since becoming president came under a cloak of secrecy³ and darkness, with news organizations learning of the visit only when the president's plane landed at Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul.  After a helicopter ride into the capital, President Obama met with his Afghan counterpart at the presidential palace.

At a joint⁴ appearance afterwards, Mr. Obama noted⁵ that recent months have seen military progress against insurgents⁶.  He added that similar progress must be made on civilian⁷ matters - including governance, fighting corruption and extending the rule of law.

U.S. officials have criticized rampant⁸ corruption in Afghanistan as well as the country's inability to consolidate⁹ democratic rule.  Last year's presidential vote was marred¹⁰ by allegations of fraud.

President Karzai expressed gratitude¹¹ for U.S. support during the past year.  In particular, he thanked U.S. taxpayers¹² for "rebuilding and reestablishing" Afghan institutions.

White House officials announced that President Karzai will visit Washington for talks in early May.

President Obama also addressed American troops at Bagram Air Base during his visit.  He thanked the troops for their sacrifices and efforts to establish security in the war-torn country.

Mr. Obama also stressed that the United States is Afghanistan's partner and that the Afghan people can provide for their own security. "The Afghans have suffered for decades - decades of war.  But we are here to help Afghans forge a hard won peace, while realizing the extraordinary potential of the Afghan people, Afghanistan's sons and daughters - from the soldiers, the police to the farmers and the young students," he said.

President Obama's trip came as U.S. and allied¹ forces are working to consolidate their hold on territory in southern Helmand province, and to prepare for battle in Kandahar -- the birthplace and spiritual home of the Taliban.

Mr. Obama said that U.S. and allied forces are working to strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government. "Our broad mission is clear, we are going to disrupt, dismantle¹³, defeat and destroy al-Qaida and its extremist allies.  That is our mission.  And to accomplish that goal, our objectives in Afghanistan are also clear.  We are going to deny al-Qaida a safe haven¹⁴.  We are going to reverse the Taliban's momentum," he said.

Last year, President Obama announced a significant expansion of U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan, while promising¹⁵ an eventual¹⁶ drawdown of American forces in the country.

The troop surge is expected to raise the number of American forces in Afghanistan to about 100,000 - almost triple the number deployed¹⁷ when Mr. Obama took office a little more than a year ago.

He noted that U.S. efforts also include a critical civilian component¹⁸ to improve living conditions for the people of Afghanistan.
 

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

10 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

11 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

12 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

13 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

14 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

16 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

17 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

18 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。