VOA标准英语2010年-Australian Excitement Lessens for Obam

President Barack Obama and Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (File)

With four trips this year to the Asian Pacific having been called off by the Obama administration -- most recently because of the oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico -- Australian excitement over US state visits is dwindling². 

As Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Monday sought to reinforce the reason behind US President Barack Obama's postponed³ trip, many Australians seemed to be growing indifferent as to whether it matters at all if the President comes.

This follows the Prime Minister's reaction last week, which some saw as an effort to pre-empt political fallout from the fourth cancellation⁴ this year of a US dignitary's trip to Australia.  "He has a big challenge on his hands, and it's in the Gulf of Mexico," Mr. Rudd said.  "That's very difficult, and represents a huge challenge for the administration… He's welcome in Australia any time he chooses to visit."

 

The stepped up public relations effort comes as Rudd faces criticism on some editorial pages, predicting he may be in political trouble without a so-called "Obama bump" in an election which could be only months away.

Tom Switzer, editor of the Australian Spectator does not share that view. "There's no question that Prime Minster Rudd would love to have President Obama here, and his very attractive family, to showcase," he said. "There's no question.  But I think long gone are the days when an American Presidential visit helps out a Prime Minister."

Whether it's long gone, lackluster, or an indication that US influence may be waning⁵ in the region; Australians, as they say here, just can't be bothered:

Edwina Leslie: "If he comes or he doesn't, I'm sort of indifferent."
Waine Parry: "We'd be more offended if someone like the Chinese leader didn't come and visit us in this current climate.  That's how most of us are employed."
Anne Gilbee: "Because you have to fly so far to get here, we're used to people just finding it really difficult to get here, so I think we'll be fine."

Probably no group is more disappointed by the on-again-off-again nature of the President's visit than students here at the University of Sydney.  They published a commemorative edition of their student paper, which has now been updated to read: "Obama, Where the Bloody⁶ Hell Are You?

"I think it's not as much a problem for the reality, as for the brand, the brand of Obama as the world president, rather than the American President," Henry Hawthorne, editor, Syndney University student paper said.

Before the first visit was scheduled in March, Hawthorne said he was excited to see Australia rising on the global political stage.  Now, following three Presidential cancellations, and the earlier cancellation by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he's worried the snubs may actually reflect a view that Australia is not a significant world player.

"I think people are caring less and less about whether Obama comes out or not though because people expected him to come out a long time ago," Hawthorne said. "He didn't.  He said he'd come out again. Again he didn't.  So people are becoming pretty jaded⁷ and a little bit over it."

And it is not just student media that have wound up with inaccurate⁸ publications because of last minute cancellations.  Back at the Australian Spectator, the unpredictable scheduling has caused a new sort of policy for covering the rescheduled US state visits.

"I'm not going to even publish anything on this, I'm just going to ignore it," Tom Switzer, editor Australian Spectator said.  "And I got badly burned the last time the President was supposed to come… I had a whole issue of the Spectator, at least one article in that issue, dedicated⁹ to the US visit--which looks stupid--so I'm not about to be caught off guard by doing the same thing again."

That may have White House officials wondering how they're going to address a public relations mess in Australia, while simultaneously¹⁰ cleaning up the mess in the Gulf.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 jaded   

adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• I felt terribly jaded after working all weekend. 整个周末工作之后我感到疲惫不堪。
• Here is a dish that will revive jaded palates. 这道菜简直可以恢复迟钝的味觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。