As he makes his way across Europe this week, from Spain to Sweden and onward to Slovenia, President Bush will face 1)skepticism from Europeans concerned about his stands on global warming, 2)missile defense and the death penalty. But European officials are hoping Mr. Bush will listen to their concerns and try to work with them to overcome U.S.-European differences.
President George Bush is welcomed to Spain by King Juan Carlos Judging by the bad press he has received, it is easy to conclude that Mr. Bush is an object of dislike and 3)derision in Europe. A cover in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine shows him standing 4)atop the globe 5)wielding two six-shooters; the caption reads: "the little 6)sheriff." A 7)satirical program on French television portrays him as a man who has difficulty counting to three. And Britain's Economist magazine features the title "Mr. Bush goes to Europe" superimposed on a picture of American astronauts landing on the moon.
In what they perceive as Mr. Bush's willingness to act 8)unilaterally, Europeans have reacted with fury over his 9)junking of the Kyoto 10)Protocol, which commits industrialized nations to reduce emissions of 11)greenhouse gases, even though no European Union state has yet 12)ratified the pact.
They also fear his pursuit of a missile defense shield and his determination to scrap the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty will lead to a new arms race, even though some leaders are slowly coming around to Mr. Bush's view that there is a threat from the 13)proliferation of missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.
European protesters gather to demonstrate against Mr. Bush's policies And, in an unfortunate coincidence, the president began his visit the day after Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed. Europeans fiercely oppose capital punishment, and news media condemned the execution as a cruel, 14)vengeful way of making McVeigh pay for his crime.
Despite appearances of a 15)frayed relationship, European analysts say America and Europe still have much in common. Dominique Moisi, of the French Institute for International Relations, in Paris, says the transatlantic relationship has weathered worse storms, such as the Suez crisis in 1956 and the dispute over stationing medium-range U.S. missiles in Europe in the early 1980s.
"What is new today is that the 16)glue of the Soviet Union has disappeared, and we have to 17)reinvent our relationship in the absence of a common threat...We have as many common values and, to a large extent, common interests as we did yesterday," he said. "But there is a more mature Europe meeting an America that may not have completely come to terms with the reality of that new Europe."
Mr. Moisi says what has changed most in Europe over the past 10 years, is that there is an 18)emerging European identity as the European Union moves to expand eastward and seeks a greater role in world affairs. And he says this new reality is perhaps not understood by American policymakers.
Bush administration officials have acknowledged that they 19)mishandled Washington's sudden withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. Analyst Gerard Walsh, of the Economist Intelligence Unit, a London-based research institute, says he is impressed by recent statements from U.S. officials that they will closely consult with their European allies and Russia on missile defense.
"I think we're already seeing a very significant attempt at building bridges between the U.S. and the EU after what was admittedly a very shaky start.... We are going to see Mr. Bush, I think, very much in a listening mode and trying to become closer with Europe compared to his initial statements and actions that have so alarmed Europe," Mr. Walsh said.
Despite the more open attitude and the toned-down 20)rhetoric he expects from the Bush administration, Mr. Walsh does not 21)foresee any significant changes in its policies. "The Bush administration will try to explain its position, or its various positions on key issues, in more detail to its European allies, but I don't actually see that there is a very fundamental change in some of the policies that Mr. Bush has already 22)spelled out. So, for example, there will be quite a concerted push for a missile defense system and, at the same time, sort of no going back to the Kyoto agreement," he said.
Many Europeans believe there is no difference between what they decry as the 23)unilateralist tone of the Bush administration and what they see as the stridently moralistic tone of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was often accused of trying to foist American values on the rest of the world.
French analyst Dominique Moisi sees the two approaches as two sides of the same coin. "The previous administration was a combination of 24)cynicism at home and moralism abroad," he said. "This administration is just the reverse. There is 25)moralism at home and cynicism abroad. What matters is the interests of America first. This new combination is probably more difficult for the transatlantic relationship than the previous one. But by the end of the day, we have no choice, and we will adjust and re-create what is a badly needed close relationship."
Some U.S. diplomats believe the greatest danger to the transatlantic partnership is that Europe as it struggles to achieve more political unity and play a bigger role on the international stage will seek to define its identity as an emerging superpower in its own right through opposition to the United States. But they say Europe cannot play such a role unless it increases its own defense spending to give military clout to its foreign policy ambitions.
For all their current disagreements, U.S. and European 26)diplomats say that America and Europe acting together can be effective, whereas one acting without the other will usually make little 27)headway.
(1)skepticism[5skeptIsIz(E)m]n.怀疑论
(2)missile[5mIsaIl]n.导弹, 发射物
(3)derision[ dI`rIVEn ]n.嘲笑
(4)atop[E5tRp]adv.在顶上prep.在...的顶上
(5)wieldy[`wi:ldI]adj.易于使用的, 适合的
(6)sheriff[5FerIf]n.郡治安官, 州长
(7)satirical[sE5tIrIk(E)l]adj.好讽刺的, 爱挖苦人的
(8)unilateral[ju:nI5lAtEr(E)l]adj.单方面, 单边的, 片面的
(9)junky[`dVQNkI]n.吸毒者adj.质量低劣的,无价值的
(10)protocol[5prEJtEkRl; (?@) -kC:l]n.草案, 协议
(11)greenhouse gas n. 二氧化碳、甲烷等导致温室效应的气体
(12)ratify[5rAtIfaI]vt.批准, 认可
(13)proliferation[prEJ9lIfE`reIFEn]n.增殖, 分芽繁殖
(14)vengeful[5vendVfJl]adj.复仇心重的, (利于)报复的
(15)fray[freI]n.冲突, 打架, 争论vt.使磨损vi.被磨损
(16)glue[^lu:]n.胶, 胶水vt.胶合, 粘贴, 粘合
(17)reinvent[ 9ri:In`vent ]vt.从复发明,彻底改造,从新使用
(18)emerge[I5m:dV]vi.显现, 浮现, 暴露, (事实)显现出来
(19)mishandle[mIs5hAnd(E)l]vt.粗鲁地对待(人或物), 虐待, 错误地处理
(20)rhetoric[5retErIk]adj.花言巧语的
(21)foresee[fC:5si:]vt.预见, 预知
(22)spell out v.讲清楚, 清楚地说明
(23)unilateralist[ 9jU:nI`lAtErElIst]adj.主张片面限武论者
(24)cynicism[`sInIsIzEm]n.犬儒主义, 玩世不恭, 冷嘲热讽
(25)moralism[`mCrElIzEm;`mR:-]n.道德教育, 格言, 道德准则
(26)diplomat[5dIplEmAt]n.外交官
(27)headway[5hedweI]n.进展
