France's outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy (2ndL) shakes hands with new President Francois Hollande (R) after the handover ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris May 15, 2012.(Agencies) |
Francois Hollande had quite a first day as French president: swearing in, Champs Elysees parade in torrential rain, then a lightning strike to his plane en route to meet the world's most powerful woman. Hollande could already consider himself unlucky with the one-in-a-million lightning strike that delayed his visit to Berlin to see Chancellor Angela Merkel and his luck with the weather did not improve as he arrived in Germany. Merkel was all smiles as she greeted the new president and appeared relaxed throughout. Hollande, on his first foreign trip as France's leader, seemed stiffer and less at ease, only sometimes cracking a smile. The leaders of Europe's two powerhouses engaged in a brief handshake -- gone the kisses on the cheeks Merkel had with Hollande's predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy -- then squelched onto the red carpet, flanked by a military band. Waving briefly to a handful of onlookers huddled under umbrellas, the two leaders stood side-by-side for the two national anthems, she in her customary pose with hands clasped at her front, he almost standing to attention. The journey across the Rhine was anything other than auspicious, with Hollande's presidential Falcon forced to return to Paris "for safety reasons and as a precaution" after being hit by lightning. At the highly awaited news conference, Merkel said the fact he made it to Berlin despite the unlikely event of a lightning strike was "maybe a good omen for our co-operation." They made the most of what they could agree on, but Hollande warned ominously that "everything was on the table" concerning EU economic policy, ahead of a meeting of European leaders in Brussels on May 23. "This meeting wasn't intended to answer all the questions that have been asked, but was mainly meant for us to get to know each other better, to establish ties, a working method, to find a solution together" to the crisis, said Hollande. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
法國(guó)新任總統(tǒng)弗朗索瓦?奧朗德任職的第一天堪稱非比尋常:宣誓就職;在香榭麗舍大道乘車巡游時(shí)突降暴雨;隨后在飛往德國(guó)與默克爾會(huì)面途中又遭遇雷擊。 奧朗德可能以為,遇到概率極低的雷擊事件,導(dǎo)致他推遲了去柏林與德國(guó)總理默克爾的會(huì)晤已經(jīng)實(shí)屬不幸,但在他抵達(dá)柏林后,天氣也沒(méi)變好。 默克爾在迎接這位新總統(tǒng)時(shí)笑容滿面,一直非常輕松。此次是奧朗德首次以法國(guó)總統(tǒng)的身份出訪,他看上去比較緊張,不太輕松,只是偶爾露個(gè)笑臉。 歐洲兩個(gè)大國(guó)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人先握了握手,而不是像默克爾之前會(huì)見(jiàn)奧朗德的前任薩科奇那樣互相親吻面頰,之后兩人在軍樂(lè)隊(duì)的伴奏下走上紅毯。 兩位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人朝舉著傘的民眾揮了揮手,之后并肩站在一起聽(tīng)兩國(guó)的國(guó)歌演奏。默克爾習(xí)慣性地把手扣在前面,奧朗德一直肅立傾聽(tīng)。 這次橫跨萊茵河的出訪行程最初不太走運(yùn),奧朗德的總統(tǒng)專機(jī)獵鷹型座機(jī)在突遭雷擊之后,“為了安全起見(jiàn),同時(shí)也為了預(yù)防事故發(fā)生”被迫返回巴黎。 默克爾在眾人期待已久的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上表示,盡管遭遇雷擊返航,但奧朗德仍飛往德國(guó)訪問(wèn)“是兩國(guó)開(kāi)展合作的好兆頭”。 兩人最大范圍地達(dá)成了一致,但奧朗德提醒說(shuō),考慮到歐洲的經(jīng)濟(jì)政策,“所有的問(wèn)題都可以公開(kāi)來(lái)談”。歐洲各國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人將于5月23日在布魯塞爾舉行會(huì)晤。 奧朗德說(shuō):“這次會(huì)晤不是為了解決所提出的所有問(wèn)題,主要是為了增進(jìn)了解,建立聯(lián)系和工作方法,一起找到應(yīng)對(duì)危機(jī)的解決辦法。” 相關(guān)閱讀 美俄總統(tǒng)私聊曝光 “轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)給普京”網(wǎng)絡(luò)走紅 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: omen: 預(yù)兆,征兆 make the most of: 盡量利用,十分重視 on the table: 公開(kāi)地,擺在桌面上 |