三民學習網－英語資訊網/新聞宅急通

Vol. 54, December, 2008

‧友善列印模式　
‧音標字型下載　‧音標字型安裝說明

資料來源：三民英語資訊網
(有著作權，請勿隨意引用)

• Barack Obama 巴拉克˙歐巴馬
在 2008 年 11 月 5 日代表民主黨在總統大選中獲勝，將於 2009 年 1 月 23 日宣誓就任，成為美國第 44 任總統，也是第一位黑人總統。在此之前，他從 2004 年至 2008 年 11 月是擔任伊利諾州的聯邦參議員。

• Democrat n. 民主黨員；支持民主黨的人
Democratic adj. 民主黨的
民主黨 (Democratic Party) 為美國當代的兩大主要政黨之一。

• Republican n. 共和黨員；支持共和黨的人
共和黨 (Republican Party) 為美國當代的兩大主要政黨之一。

• John McCain 約翰˙麥肯
美國政治人物，曾於 2008 年代表共和黨參選美國總統失利。現為亞利桑那州聯邦參議員。

• Kenya n. 肯亞共和國
位於非洲東部，原為英國殖民地，於 1963 年 12 月 12 日獨立。面積約 58 萬平方公里，人口 3800 萬。肯亞的經濟活動以農業、旅遊業為主。

• Kansas n. 堪薩斯州
美國中部的一個州，位於美國本土的正中心，是相當重要的農業州，首府位於托皮卡 ( Topeka ) 。

• divorce v. 離婚
Since Jessica's parents divorced when she was nine, she has been raised by her mother alone.

• Indonesia n. 印度尼西亞共和國
簡稱印度尼西亞或印尼，位於東南亞；由上萬個島嶼組成，為全世界最大的群島國家，橫跨亞洲及大洋洲。印尼面積約 192 萬平方公里，人口 2 億 3700 多萬，是世界上人口第四多的國家，僅次於中國、印度和美國。

• graduate v. 畢業
Helen graduated from college last month. Now, she works as a nurse.

• Columbia University 哥倫比亞大學
世界最具聲望的高等學府之一，位於美國紐約市。

• Chicago n. 芝加哥
位於美國中西部的伊利諾州，東臨密西根湖，人口約 290 萬。芝加哥及其郊區組成的大芝加哥地區，人口超過 900 萬，是美國僅次於紐約市和洛杉磯的第三大都會區。

• community n. 社區
Jack knows everyone in this community because he has lived here for twenty years.

• Harvard Law School 哈佛大學法學院
哈佛大學是一所位於美國麻薩諸塞州波士頓近郊的私立大學，是美國歷史最悠久的高等學府。哈佛大學的法學院頗負盛名，在全美排名第二。

• politics n. 政治
“Politics is more difficult than physics,” Einstein once said.

• senator n. 參議員
Obama was the United States Senator from Illinois before he was elected president in 2008.

• Illinois n. 伊利諾州
位於美國中北部，密西根湖的西南方，最大城市是芝加哥，首府位於春田市 ( Springfield ) 。

• largely adv. 大部分，主要地
Dave's failure is largely due to his laziness.

• Democratic National Convention 美國民主黨全國代表大會

• audacity n. 無畏，大膽
It sometimes needs a lot of audacity to stand up and fight for one's own right.

• electrify v. 使震驚，使激動
The dancer's performance electrified us all. We felt crazy about her after the show.

• overnight adv. 一夜之間
The singer's first album turned out to be the greatest hit, and he became famous overnight.

• Hillary Clinton 希拉蕊˙柯林頓
現任美國紐約州聯邦參議員，美國第 42 屆總統比爾˙柯林頓之妻。希拉蕊在 2008 年民主黨總統初選中敗給歐巴馬，但在歐巴馬當選總統之後，已經同意出任下屆國務卿。

• announce v. 宣佈
The manager announced in the meeting that he would quit next week.

• spontaneous adj. 自發的
Jerry wanted a spontaneous recovery from the flu, so he didn't go to a doctor.

• celebration n. 慶祝
Every city has a big celebration during the New Year.

• Harlem n. 哈林區
哈林區是美國紐約市曼哈頓的一個區域，曾經長期是 20 世紀美國黑人文化與商業中心，也是犯罪與貧困的地區，目前正在經歷一場社會和經濟復興。

• Oprah Winfrey 歐普拉˙溫芙蕾
女性黑人，美國著名脫口秀節目主持人。

• civil rights 民權
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very important leader in the American civil rights movement.

• Jesse Jackson 傑西˙傑克森
美國黑人民權運動牧師，在 1980 年代曾經參選美國總統大選。

• historic adj. 歷史性的
President Bush and Obama held a historic meeting in the White House.

• challenge n. 挑戰
Cathy is ready to meet the challenges of her new job.

• lifetime n. 一生，終生
During his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.

• peril n. 嚴重的危險
The economic system in the U.S. is now in great peril.

• defining moment 關鍵性時刻
Some people define any difficulty they meet as a challenge, while others define it as an obstacle.

Obama Makes History

(by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent)

History was made in America this fall when Barack Obama was elected the forty-fourth president of the United States. Obama is the first African-American ever to hold this position. A Democrat, Obama defeated the Republican John McCain on November 5, as large numbers of Americans turned out to vote in this important election.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961, to a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas. His parents divorced a few years later. Obama's mother then remarried and moved the family to Indonesia, where Obama went to a public school until he turned ten. He was then brought back to Hawaii by his mother. A few years after graduating from Columbia University, Obama decided to move to Chicago, where he worked as a community organizer. He then went to Harvard Law School before becoming involved in politics.

As a junior senator from the State of Illinois, Obama was largely unknown until he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Called "The Audacity of Hope," this speech electrified the crowd and made Obama a national figure overnight. Many, however, were still surprised that he chose to run for the presidency three years later, since Hillary Clinton seemed the likely Democratic candidate at that time. Obama defeated Hillary in this primary race before going on to beat McCain in the general election this November.

When Obama's victory was announced, spontaneous celebrations erupted not only across the United States but also around the world, with people singing and dancing in the streets in Harlem and Kenya and even in a town called Obama in Japan. In Chicago, more than 300,000 people gathered to hear Obama speak. Many, including the TV star Oprah Winfrey and the civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, were in tears as they celebrated this historic moment and listened to Obama speak.

In this speech, Obama was serious about challenges that America faces, calling them "the greatest of our lifetime—two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century." However, just as he had done in his campaign, Obama offered Americans—and the world—"hope" and "change." As Obama said that night: "In this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

Reading Comprehension Test

1.	Why is the article entitled “Obama Makes History?” (A) Obama was the youngest senator ever from the State of Illinois. (B) Obama became the first African-American president in American history. (C) Obama was the first Hawaiian to study in Harvard Law School. (D) Obama gave the most famous speech at the Democratic National Convention.
2.	Which of the following is NOT true about Barack Obama? (A) He has a black father and a white mother. (B) He went to a public school in Hawaii until he was ten. (C) He graduated from Columbia University. (D) He once worked as a community organizer in Chicago.
3.	By the year 2007, who was the most likely Democratic candidate in the next year's presidential election? (A) John McCain. (B) Hillary Clinton. (C) Oprah Winfrey. (D) Jesse Jackson.
4.	About the celebrations of Obama’s victory, which of the following is true? (A) People sang and danced in the streets in a town called Obama in Kenya. (B) In the United States, only people in Chicago celebrated his victory. (C) In Hawaii, more than 300,000 people gathered to hear Obama speak. (D) Many people were in tears as they celebrated this historic moment.
5.	According to this article, we can infer that ____________. (A) Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson are both African-Americans (B) the world’s economy is very prosperous recently (C) most people living in Harlem are white (D) Obama has lived in Japan for a long time

中譯

歐巴馬締造歷史

今年秋天，歐巴馬獲選第44任美國總統，美國歷史新頁於焉展開，而他是第一位取得此一職位的非裔美國人。在11月5日的這場重要選舉中，眾多美國人現身投票，身為民主黨黨員的歐巴馬，擊敗共和黨的麥肯。

1961年8月4日，歐巴馬誕生於夏威夷，父親是來自肯亞的黑人，母親是堪薩斯州的白人。他的父母在幾年之後離異，歐巴馬的母親後來再婚，舉家搬至印尼，歐巴馬進入當地公立學校就讀至十歲，後來就由母親帶他回到夏威夷。從哥倫比亞大學畢業之後幾年，歐巴馬決定搬到芝加哥，擔任當地的社區組織者，接著，他就讀哈佛大學法學院，之後再投身政治。

身為伊利諾州資淺參議員的歐巴馬，在他2004年於民主黨全國大會發表演說前是默默無名的。這場演說名為「無畏的希望」，觸動了群眾的心，也使得歐巴馬一夕之間成為全國性的人物。儘管如此，他在三年之後作出競選總統的選擇，仍讓許多人感到詫異，因為在當時，希拉蕊似乎是民主黨候選人的不二人選。歐巴馬先是在初選中擊退希拉蕊，接著又在今年11月的大選中擊敗麥肯。

歐巴馬的勝選一經宣布，不僅在全美，也在世界各地引爆慶祝，在哈林區、肯亞、甚至日本的小濱市（同樣叫做Obama），民眾載歌載舞。芝加哥超過30萬人聚集在一起，聆聽歐巴馬發表演說。在慶祝歷史性的這一刻，並且聆聽歐巴馬演說的時候，包括電視名人歐普拉與人權領袖傑克森在內的許多民眾不禁落下淚來。

在演說中，歐巴馬嚴肅提到美國所面臨的挑戰，稱之為「我們人生中最大的（挑戰）——兩地的戰爭、處於危險的星球、百年來最嚴重的金融危機」。然而，正如同歐巴馬在競選過程中的所作所為，他帶給美國人與全世界「希望」與「改變」，歐巴馬當晚表示：「在這場選舉中，在這決定性的時刻，改變，已經降臨美國。」

閱讀測驗解答：B, B, B, D, A