【一起听英语】政治上的尴尬事
在政界里，国家领导人是否也遭遇过尴尬呢，他们又是如何巧妙得化解的呢
Neil: Hello, I'm Neil.
Callum: And I'm Callum.
Neil: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Today we're talking
Callum: Yes, the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has suffered a rather embarrassing
moment. Some private remarks he made to the US President, Barack Obama,
during the G20 Summit in Cannes last week have been made public.
Neil: When a politician says or does something embarrassing, or which reveals
thoughts he doesn't want the public to know about, it's called a political gaffe 1.
More on political gaffes later on, but first a question for you, Callum. Are you
ready?
Callum: Go on!
Neil: Seeing as we're talking about heads of state, I have a question about
Presidents… Who is the President of Germany? Is it:
a) Angela Merkel
c) Jurgen Klinsmann
Callum: Christian Wulff.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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Neil: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's get
back to the subject of political gaffes. Let's find out exactly what it was that the
French President said. Here's a report from the BBC's Christian Frazer:
Christian Frazer, BBC
On Thursday, as journalists were gathering 4 for a bilateral 5 news conference with the American
and French presidents they were treated to a remarkable 6 insight into the personal dynamics 7 of
the negotiating room. "I can't look at him any more" said Mr Sarkozy, of the Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "he's a liar 8". "You're sick of him", said the American President
in some exasperation 9, "I have to deal with him every day."
Callum: Ah, yes. That is pretty bad, isn't it? He called the Israeli Prime Minister "a liar".
Neil: I think Barack Obama would rather his comments hadn't become public either.
He appears to have some sympathy for Mr Sarkozy by saying "I have to deal
with him every day". Callum, what does it mean "to deal with someone"?
Callum: It means to talk to and meet someone often as part of your job. But Neil, I
think one of the most interesting aspects of this story is that it took several
days for French journalists who overheard the comments to report the story.
Neil: Yes, French journalists overheard the comments. This means they heard them
without meaning to or without the speakers' knowledge. It seems pretty strange
to me for journalists not to report such a big story.
Callum: Yes, I'm not sure British journalists would act in the same way. Here's the
BBC's Christian Frazer again.
Christian Frazer, BBC
French journalists stunned 10 by what they'd heard, initially 11 agreed not to print the quotes. Was it
ethically 12 unsound or was it the overbearing deference 13, even fear, with which French
journalists approach the political class? You can't help feeling British journalists might have
reacted differently. In fact they did when Gordon Brown made a similar mistake.
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Neil: The French journalists might have thought it was ethically unsound to print
the quotes. This means they might have thought it was below the standards of
their profession.
Callum: Or perhaps it was because in France there is a deference for the political class.
A deference is a politeness and respect for someone or something.
Neil: As the reporter says, this approach is very different to the treatment the former
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, received from the British press when
he made a political gaffe before the last general election in the UK in May
2010. Do you remember what happened, Callum?
Callum: Yes, Gordon Brown was heard describing a person he had just spoken to as "a
bigoted 14 woman". A bigoted person is someone with strong and unreasonable 15
opinions which they won't change under any circumstances.
Neil: And what kind of impact did this political gaffe have on Gordon Brown?
Callum: I think most people agree it was the final nail in his coffin 16.
Neil: The final nail in his coffin. This means it was the last in a series of events
leading to the failure of something. Gordon Brown lost that election and his
position as Prime Minister. Do you know of any other political gaffes, Callum?
Callum: There have been a few notable ones. My favourite was from a former US
President, Ronald Reagan. He was getting ready to go on air when he said this:
Ronald Reagan
My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will
outlaw 17 Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
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Neil: He joked that he'd signed legislation, meaning he'd created a law, which
banned Russia! He added that the bombing would start in five minutes!
Fortunately this wasn't broadcast but appeared at a later date. And so onto our
quiz question, Callum.
Callum: Yes, I'm ready.
Neil: I asked who the President of Germany is...
Callum: And my answer was Christian Wulff
Neil: And you were right. I was hoping to trick people with that question. The
President of Germany isn't as well known as the Chancellor 18, or Prime Minister.
In fact, I had to look him up myself just to check! Thanks Callum. Well we
hope you've enjoyed today's programme, and you'll join us again soon for
another 6 Minute English.
Both: Bye!
- I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
- He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。
- The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
- When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
- He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
- He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
- 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。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
- In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
- Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。
- I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
- She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。
- He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
- She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
- The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
- Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。
- Ethically , we have nothing to be ashamed about . 从伦理上说，我们没有什么好羞愧的。
- Describe the appropriate action to take in an ethically ambiguous situation. 描述适当行为采取在一个道德地模棱两可的情况。
- Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
- The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。
- He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
- I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。
- I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
- They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
- When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
- The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
- The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
- The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。
- They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
- He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。