标题: 双语新闻+语音：A man of the people [打印本页] 作者: xiaomeixin 时间: 2011-8-27 11:02 标题: 双语新闻+语音：A man of the people
[audio]http://sound.yywz123.com/tingbbs/up/news/20110824 a man.mp3[/audio]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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?
