Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, has compared the challenge of fighting climate change to her own struggle to lose weight.
Speaking to State Department staff on Earth Day, Mrs Clinton said more must be done to reduce the department's environmental footprint and conceded this was a big challenge, much like one of her personal battles.
"Often times when you face such an overwhelming challenge as global climate change, it can be somewhat daunting - it's kind of like trying to lose weight, which I know something about," she said to laughter.
"You think, oh I only have to lose X numbers of pounds but it seems like such a far away goal," she added.
"It's kind of like world peace and so therefore why even try? Well, because we are called to try. That's who we are as human beings and that's especially how we think of ourselves as Americans."
Later, Mrs Clinton defended the right to abortion and the Obama administration's decision to finance family planning overseas.
"I've been in hospitals in Brazil where half the women were enthusiastically and joyfully greeting new babies and the other half were fighting for their lives against botched abortions," she told Congress.
"I've been in African countries where 12 and 13-year-old girls are bearing children. I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning consigns women to lives of oppression and hardship.
"It is my strongly held view that you are entitled to advocate and everyone who agrees with you should be free to do so anywhere in the world, and so are we."
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(Agencies)
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美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)卿希拉里?克林頓日前在一次講話中將應(yīng)對(duì)氣候變化的挑戰(zhàn)比作她自己減肥所經(jīng)歷的考驗(yàn)。
希拉里在世界地球日當(dāng)天對(duì)國(guó)會(huì)工作人員發(fā)表講話時(shí)稱,為減少國(guó)會(huì)的“碳足跡”,還需要做出更多的努力,并稱這是一個(gè)很大的挑戰(zhàn),跟她個(gè)人的減肥戰(zhàn)斗差不多。
希拉里說:“很多時(shí)候,當(dāng)你面對(duì)全球氣候變化這樣一個(gè)艱巨的挑戰(zhàn)時(shí),多少會(huì)心生膽怯——這有點(diǎn)像減肥,對(duì)此我深有體會(huì)。”聽眾們聞后發(fā)出陣陣笑聲。
“你會(huì)想,哦,我只需減掉幾磅就可以了,但卻似乎是個(gè)非常遙遠(yuǎn)的目標(biāo)。”
“這有點(diǎn)類似世界和平,那么為什么還要去嘗試呢?因?yàn)槲覀儽仨毴L試。這就是我們作為人類所應(yīng)該做的,這就是我們作為美國(guó)人應(yīng)該做的?!?/font>
之后,希拉里對(duì)墮胎權(quán)以及奧巴馬政府發(fā)布的允許資助海外計(jì)劃生育的決策進(jìn)行辯護(hù)。
她說:“我曾在巴西的醫(yī)院看到有一些女人為她們新出生的孩子開心地慶祝,而另有一些女人則因拙劣的墮胎手術(shù)掙扎在生死邊緣。”
“我曾在非洲國(guó)家看到十二三歲的女孩懷上孩子。我曾在亞洲國(guó)家看到不允許計(jì)劃生育使婦女陷入壓抑與痛苦?!?/font>
“我強(qiáng)烈認(rèn)為,你們有權(quán)倡導(dǎo)這一理念,每個(gè)與你們持有相同觀點(diǎn)的人在世界的各個(gè)地方都有權(quán)這么做,我們也一樣?!?/font>
相關(guān)閱讀
全球變暖致淡水河流量下降
希拉里贈(zèng)俄外長(zhǎng)禮物 拼錯(cuò)單詞鬧笑話
Earth Day(世界地球日)
(英語點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯)
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