双语新闻+语音：A man of the people

xiaomeixin

Some politicians have it, others don’t. Vice President of the US, Joe Biden has clearly got it.

一种东西，有些政客有，而有些则没有。而显然美国副总统乔•拜登拥有它。

I’m talking about the common touch - the ability to get on with ordinary people.

我所说的正是平易近人的品质，即和普通百姓友好相处的能力。

Last week, Biden won hearts and minds when he took his granddaughter and three colleagues to lunch. Online users praised his easygoing manner – and his choice of restaurant, popular Beijing eatery Yao’s Chao Gan (Yao’s stir fried pork liver) near the Drum Tower.

上周，拜登带着孙女和三名同事去吃了一顿午饭，此举为他赢得无数民心。网友们盛赞他态度随和，且赞其选择鼓楼人气小吃店——姚记炒肝就餐实属明智之选。

Biden, 68, ordered five local dishes including noodles with soybean paste. He paid his bill of 79 yuan with a 100 RMB note, and left the change for the waiter.

68岁的拜登点了炸酱面等5道京味菜。账单一共79元，他付了100元人民币，余下的零钱则留给了服务生当小费。

One website described it as “Biden’s Noodle Diplomacy”.

一家网站将其描述为“拜登的面条外交”。


Yao Ping, one of the restaurant’s owners, told China Daily of Biden: “He is very amiable. He talked not only to us, but with other customers.”

作为饭馆老板之一的姚萍在接受《中国日报》采访时是这样描述拜登的：“他非常友善。不仅和我们聊天，还和其他顾客交流。”

Jack Mark wrote on his micro blog that Biden’s low-key visit to the restaurant brought him closer to ordinary Chinese. “I really adore him,” he wrote.

杰克•马克在微博中表示，拜登低调就餐，拉近了他与中国普通民众之间的距离。杰克写到：“我十分敬仰他。”

Others cast doubts on Biden’s motives. Blogger Ling Yunxiao said the vice president’s meal was a publicity stunt. “As a politician, he has to create a favorable image,” wrote Ling Yunxiao.

另一些人则对拜登此举提出质疑。博主凌云霄（音译）则将拜登的这种行为是在公众面前作秀。凌云霄写道：“作为一名政客，他必须塑造一个良好形象。”

Regular Guy

普通人

Biden’s boss, President Barack Obama, is already known as a man of the people.

作为拜登的老板，美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马已是众所周知的平民总统。

In June he was pictured having lunch at a diner in Ohio, US. The menu? Hotdogs. What could be more American? Pictures appeared in the press and online next day of the president devouring his chili dog and paying for his meal just like everyone else.

6月份时，记者拍到他在美国俄亥俄州的一辆餐车旁吃午餐，知道吃的是什么吗？热狗。还有什么比这更具美国特色呢？到了次日，报纸网上刊登了一组照片，照片中总统正津津有味地吃着辣味热狗，并且同其他人一样为自己的午餐付账。

What a great photo opportunity for the White House.

对白宫而言，这是多么给力的一次拍照机会啊！

The message was: your president is a regular guy who eats the same food as you.

照片传达的信息是：总统和你一样，都是吃普通食物的普通人。

Funny thing is, Washington insiders will tell you that President Obama genuinely enjoys fast food.

有趣的是，华盛顿内部人士会告诉你说，奥巴马总统其实真的喜欢吃快餐。

He regularly slips out of the White House to buy a burger, despite having a cordon bleu chef at his beck and call.

尽管拥有顶级厨师随时待命，但他经常会溜出白宫去买汉堡。

Some politicians’ attempts to appear chummy and ordinary don’t work. When British Prime Minister David Cameron told a youth “Call me Dave”, he was mocked mercilessly for his clumsy attempt at populism.

而有些政客试图变现得友好亲民，却弄巧成拙。当英国首相大卫•卡梅隆对一位年轻人说：“叫我大卫”的时候，人们毫不留情取笑他这种试图采取平民主义的方式拙劣不堪。

Cameron likes to present himself as an ordinary guy. He rides a mountain bike (least he did before he became prime minister).

卡梅隆喜欢变现得和普通人一样。他骑了一辆山地单车（至少在他成为首相前是这样）。

Cameron told the Sun newspaper that he likes a pint of real ale, rather than champagne, and that he smokes Marlboro Lights (a habit he’s vowed to quit).

卡梅隆在接受《太阳报》采访时，表示自己宁愿选择一品脱真正的麦芽酒而不是香槟，而且他抽的烟是白色万宝路（而他一直发誓说要戒烟）。

However, Call Me Dave (CMD) is seen by most people as a bit of a “toff” - a member of the privileged classes who is used to the finer things in life.

然而，很多人认为“叫我大卫”这句话给人一种有钱人的感觉，就是那些习惯了奢侈生活的特权阶层成员。

The son of a stockbroker, Cameron went to Eton, an exclusive public school which has produced more prime ministers than any other English school. Sending your kid to Eton costs 31,000 pounds (327,040 yuan) a year (to be paid in advance). This is much more than the average British wage.

作为一位股票经纪人的儿子，卡梅隆曾就读于伊顿公学，作为一所高级公立学府，从该校走出的首相比其他任何一所英国学校都要多。把你的孩子送去伊顿公学读书，一年需预先支付31000英镑（合327040人民币）的学费。这比英国平均收入要高出许多。

Even today, Cameron is a member of White’s, an exclusive Mayfair gentlemen’s club. Other members include the Queen’s son, Prince Charles, and prince William.

甚至到了今天，卡梅隆依然是伦敦上流绅士俱乐部White’s的成员之一。该俱乐部成员还包括查尔斯王子以及威廉王子。

A blogger named Myles commented on the website, Crooked Timber: “Why do voters want to see politicians attempt the common touch when it is such a transparent fraud?

一位名叫迈尔斯的博主在Crooked Timber网站上评论道：“当亲民变成显而易见的欺骗时，为何选民们还想要看到政客们做出亲民举动？”


“Because it is an act of submission to and affirmation of the voter by the politician.”

“因为这是政客们顺从选民心理，从而获得肯定的伎俩。”

In other words, politicians, no matter how powerful, have to submit to a ritual humiliation every four or five years. It’s known as re-election.

换句话说，不管手中多么有权利，每隔4、5年，政客们都不得不顺从这种例行公事般的丢脸的行为。这就是众所周知的竞选连任。

And in order to win votes from the common people, you have to at least appear to have the common touch.

为赢得普通民众的选票，切记至少要让你自己看起来很亲民。

李武军

you've done a good job

xiaomeixin

回复 2# 李武军


    Thank you very much.Hope you will like it.

sunnyraintsk

Thank you for sharing. I like studying english in this way.