Larry King专访Michelle Obama

King: What's your read on the former governor of Alaska?

Mrs. Obama: You know, I don't have a read. I mean, I try not to make or set opinions about people that I haven't had any, you know, substantive interaction with. I mean I know what you see on TV...

King: Does it irk you when she criticizes the president?

Mrs. Obama: You know, democracy is about critique and the president is not immuned to criticism. I think he's doing a phenomenal job. You know, we have to think of where we were when he took office. We were on the brink of a depression worse than anyone really ever imagined. And I don't the country ever really knew how bad things were. And because of some important steps, quick thinking, smart strategic thinking, we are not even talking about that. We've got to do more on jobs. We need to get health care done. There's a lot of work to be done. And we need to do more to improve the civility in Washington. And I think, if there's a disappointment, Barack wishes that we've come farther in that effort.

King: Is she a phenomena to you?

Mrs. Obama: Again, I mean I think it's wonderful to have strong female voices out there. But I don't know her.

King: Do you think you will get health care?

Mrs. Obama: I think we don't have a choice. When we look at these statistics, we are spending billions of dollars on preventable diseases and new health care legislation could go a long way to improving prevention, first and foremost. Health care reform, people have to have a pediatrician in order to get good information from their pediatrician. People have to be able to take their kids to well doctor's visits to have all this information tracked. So we have to get this done. And I'm hopeful that Congress will come together that the American people will recognize that doing nothing is absolutely not an option.

I come to this issue as a mother. You know, before coming to the White House, especially when my husband was on the campaign trail, we were living a lives of average families, way too busy, rushing, fast food, desserts too much, probably not monitering TV. I was fortunate enough to have a pediatrician who worked in an urban environment in the African-American community and he was tracking BMI. And he saw a little uptick in the kids' BMI. And he kind of pulled me aside.

King: BMI means?

Mrs. Obama: Body Mass Index, which is, you know, a measure of, sort of, where people fall on the weight scale. It's one of first indicators.

King: And it was getting alarming?

Mrs. Obama: It was getting to the point where he raised a red flag and he probably was more cautious than most people because of what he had been seeing in his own practice.

King: How did you react?

Mrs. Obama: You know, I was shocked at first, because I didn't, I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do. And I hadn't noticed any changes in my kids. So it was a little bit shocking and a little disorienting because I wasn't sure what to do. But I came home. And it was kind of a wake-up call. And we made some changes, even with busy schedules. And they were minor changes, but I thought, well, we have to do something.

生词汇总：

have a read: if you have a read, you spend time reading 花时间阅读

substantive: dealing with real, important or serious matters 实质性的

phenomenal: very great or impressive 了不起的；非凡的

uptick: a small increase 小幅增加

Body Mass Index: 身体质量指数 (略作 BMI, 测量身体是否肥胖的数值. 据有关报道, BMI值介于18.5-24, 则体重属于正常范围. BMI大于24时即属于过重, 大于27时即属于肥胖, 必须多加注意)

disorienting: making someone not know where they are or which direction they should go 使失去方向;使迷惘;使失去判断力

wake-up call: 这个词组有两个解释，第一个是“叫醒电话 a telephone call that someone makes to you, especially at a hotel, to wake you up in the morning”，还有一个是“某件事让某人警醒 an experience or event that shocks you and makes you realize that you must do something to change a situation”