奥巴马锻炼过猛"瘦成竹竿"?

He is a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders but President Barack Obama appears to be shedding pounds in other areas.

A photograph of Mr Obama emerging from a gym in Fort McNair, Washington showed him looking slimmer than usual.

The Drudge Report website, which published the picture, captioned it "Barack 'N Bones" and said "rigorous workouts and high-stress basketball games" were responsible for the president's apparent weight loss.

Mr Obama has been teased by political opponents in the past about his physique.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, once joked that he had "scrawny arms" and that he would make Mr Obama "do some squats". By contrast, Michelle Obama's gym-toned arms have been widely admired.

The couple are vocal supporters of healthy living and Mr Obama goes regularly to the gym.

As he came out of the gym in Fort McNair, he was wearing a large jacket which may have contributed to his skinny look.

A Washington insider told the Drudge Report that the president was not chain-smoking - his one vice - but does occasionally skip meals because he is "working non-stop for the country". A week ago, Mr Obama talked about his physique as he hit back at critics in a speech in Miami.

He said: "Just 'cause I'm skinny doesn't mean I'm not tough. I don't rattle.

"I'm not going to shrink back, because now is the time for us to continue to push and follow through on those things that we know have to be done but haven't been done for decades."

美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马肩负了整个世界的重量，但他似乎正从其他地方减重。

日前，奥巴马从位于华盛顿的福特．麦克奈尔体育馆出来时被媒体拍到，照片上的奥巴马看起来比以往瘦了很多。

发布该照片的“德拉吉报道”网站对这张图片的说明是“巴拉克瘦成皮包骨头”，并称“严格的体能训练和高强度的篮球运动”是导致奥巴马明显变瘦的原因。

奥巴马之前就因体格问题遭到政敌们的嘲笑。

加州州长阿诺德．施瓦辛格就曾开玩笑说奥巴马的“胳膊细得像竹竿”，并称他应该让奥巴马“做一些蹲举运动”。而相比之下，米歇尔．奥巴马健美的手臂却广受赞赏。

奥巴马夫妇大力倡导健康生活方式，奥巴马还定期去健身房锻炼。

从照片上可以看到，奥巴马从福特．麦克奈尔体育馆出来时，身穿一件宽大的夹克，这可能也是让他显得很瘦的原因。

华盛顿的一名知情人士告诉“德拉吉报道”网站称，总统已经不像原来那样不停地抽烟，但是偶尔会顾不上吃饭，因为他正在“为国家卖命工作”。一周前，奥巴马在迈阿密的一次演讲中反击批评言论时谈及了自己的体格问题。

他说：“我瘦并不意味着我不强硬。我强壮得很。“

“我不会退缩，因为现在正是继续推进那些我们应该做但多年来却还没有做的事情的时候。”

Vocabulary:

workout: the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit 训练

scrawny: gaunt and bony 骨瘦如柴的

rattle: to shake with such a sound 发出咯咯声（The window rattled in the wind. 窗户在风中嘎嘎作响。）奥巴马的意思是说他虽然骨瘦如柴，但是很强壮（字面意思是“骨头不会嘎吱作响”）。

shrink back: pull away from a source of disgust or fear 退缩

vice:a slight personal failing; a foible（恶习；缺点）