VOA慢速英语:America’s New Secretary of State Talks Foreign Policy

Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear this week that American foreign policy decisions affect the lives of Americans. Mr. Kerry spoke during a visit to the University of Virginia. The school was established by the country’s first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson.   
美国国务卿约翰•克里本周明确表示，美国的外交政策决定会影响美国人的生活。克里在访问弗吉尼亚大学时发表的讲话，该学校由美国第一位国务卿托马斯•杰斐逊创建。

The visit came at a time when Congress and President Obama are debating federal spending. Secretary Kerry used his speech to call attention to the importance of diplomacy. And he explained why the international affairs budget should not be cut.
这次访问发生在美国国会与总统奥巴马就联邦预算争论不休之时。国务卿克里在讲话中呼吁人们关注外交的重要性，他解释了为什么在国际事务中不应该削减预算。

Mr. Kerry said foreign policy matters do not just include threats to the United States. He said they include “the products Americans buy, the goods they sell, the jobs they create, and the opportunity we provide for economic growth and vitality.”
克里先生说，外交政策不只是涉及美国面临的威胁，还包括“美国人购买的产品、销售的产品、创造的就业机会，并且有为美国为经济增长和发展提供活力的机会。”

“I'm here because our lives as Americans are more intertwined than ever before with the lives of people in parts of the world we've never visited.  In the global challenges of diplomacy, development, economic security, and environmental security, you will feel our success or failure just as strongly as those people in those other countries that you'll never meet.”
“我之所以在这里，是因为我们美国人的生活日益与世界其他地方与我们素未谋面的人们的生活联系在一起。全球临着外交、发展、经济安全和环境安全的挑战，你们将会感受到我们的成功与失败都与世界其他地方与我们素不相识的人密切地联系在一起。”

Secretary Kerry said one study found that most Americans thought the international affairs budget was 25 percent of the national budget. Many of those questioned wanted to reduce foreign affairs spending to 10 percent. He noted that such spending represents, in fact, just over 1 percent of the national budget. 
国务卿克里说，一项研究发现，大多数美国人认为国际事务预算占了国家预算的25%，许多受访者希望将外事预算开支削减到10%。他支出，事实上这类开支仅超出全国预算1%。

Mr. Kerry praised the State Department and USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. He said their good work is measured not only in the value of the dollar, but in American values. He noted that it is less costly to deploy diplomats today than troops tomorrow.
克里先生赞扬了美国国务院和美国国际开发署，他说他们良好的工作不仅是用美元的价值来衡量，而是用美国人的价值观来衡量。他指出，今天派遣外交官远比将来部署军队成本更低。

Secretary Kerry said the State Department and USAID have provided assistance to democracy and human rights programs in several countries.
国务卿克里说，美国国务院和美国国际开发署已向几个国家的民主和人权项目提供了援助。

Mr. Kerry will make his first foreign trip as Secretary of State beginning this Sunday. He plans to visit nine countries in Europe and the Middle East.
克里先生将于这个星期天进行上任以来的首次外交访问，他计划前往欧洲和中东的9个国家。

He also spoke about globalization and the spread of information. The *** is a good example of how social media like Facebook and Twitter can influence foreign policies and even change governments.
他还谈到全球化和信息的传播，***就是一个例子，很好地说明了诸如Facebook和Twitter这样的社交媒体能极大地影响外交政策，甚至改朝换代。

The political unrest started over two years ago in Tunisia. This week, events made it clear that political reforms and change do not happen overnight. Tunisia’s Islamist supported prime minister resigned after failing to form a new government. Hamadi Jebali left office after saying his own Ennahada party had rejected his government plans.
这次政治动荡始于两年多前的突尼斯。本周，事实表明政治改革和变化不是一朝一夕间的事。由于未能组建新政府，突尼斯的伊斯兰支持的总理辞职。 Hamadi Jebali称其所属的伊斯兰复兴党否决了自己的政府方案，随后辞职。

Mr. Jebali announced his desire to form a non-partisan government on February 6th. The announcement came just after opposition leader Chokri Belaid was shot and killed in the capital, Tunis. Large protests followed the shooting. Supporters accused the prime minister of being involved.
Jebali先生宣称他希望能在2月6日组建无党派政府，声明在反对派领导人Chokri Belaid在突尼斯首都中弹身亡后公布。随后发生大规模抗议。支持者指责总理与该事件有关。

On Friday, Interior Minister Ali Larayedh was nominated as Mr. Ennadha’s choice for Prime Minister. He will have two weeks to form a government.
周五，伊斯兰复兴党提名内政部长Ali Larayedh出任总理，他将有两周的时间来组建政府。