VOA慢速英语2016 奥巴马：非洲想要的是贸易而非援助

AS IT IS 2016-09-24 Obama: Africa Wants Trade, Not Aid 奥巴马：非洲想要的是贸易而非援助

There may be conflicts, poverty and disease in Africa, but the president of the United States says the direction of the continent is unmistakable.

非洲有冲突、贫穷和疾病，但美国总统奥巴马表示非洲大陆的发展方向是正确的。

President Barack Obama told business leaders this week that “Africa is on the move.”He spoke 1 at a meeting of the U.S.-Africa Business Forum 2 in New York City.

奥巴马本周对商界领袖说道“非洲正在进步”。他在纽约美非商业论坛上发表了讲话。

Obama said the African continent is "home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and ... powered by the youngest population anywhere on the planet.”

奥巴马说非洲大陆“拥有世界上发展最快的经济体，由全球最年轻的人口推动发展。”

[Africa has] a middle class projected to grow to more than a billion customers, he added.

“非洲的中产阶级预计将增长超过十亿，”奥巴马补充道。

Obama told the meeting that everywhere he travels in Africa, "from Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade. They want partners, not patrons.”

奥巴马在大会上说，他去过非洲的每个地方，“从塞内加尔到南非，非洲人都表示他们需要的不仅仅是援助，他们想要贸易。他们想要合作伙伴，而不是赞助人。”

To help American businesses and investment, the U.S. government has become more active in Africa.Since 2008, the Department of Commerce has opened offices in Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania.The department also has an expanded presence in Ghana and re-established a presence at the African Development Bank.

为了促进美国商业和投资，美国政府在非洲的活动更加活跃。自2008年起，美国商务部在安哥拉、埃塞俄比亚、莫桑比克和坦桑尼亚设立了办事处。美商务部还加强在加纳地区的存在，重新与非洲发展银行建立关系。

Two well-known Americans led the U.S.-Africa Business Forum meeting: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

两位知名美国人领导了这次美非商业论坛：美商务部长潘妮·普利茨克和前纽约市长迈克尔·布隆伯格。

The event was designed to help investors 3 and business people from Africa and North America get acquainted with each other.

这次会议旨在帮助非洲和北美的投资者及商人互相结识。

As Obama explained: "All of you should be wanting to make money and create great products and great services, and be profitable, and do right by your investors. But the good news is, in Africa right now, if you are doing well, you can also be doing a lot of good.”

正如奥巴马所说：“在座各位都想赚钱，都想创造优质的产品，提供卓越的服务，想要盈利，想要善待投资者。但好消息是，在如今的非洲，如果你能运营良好，你就能收获很多。”

One of the young people he spoke about is Frances Udukwu from Nigeria. She is currently serving as Miss Africa USA.

奥巴马提到一个年轻人，来自尼日利亚的Frances Udukwu。她如今是非洲美国小姐。

Frances Udukwu is only 26 years old, but she recently launched a non-profit organization, called the Lead Girl Foundation. It’s goal is to help girls and young women make a life for themselves through business and occupational training.

Frances Udukwu只有26岁，但她最近发起了一个非营利组织，名叫榜样女孩基金会。该机构致力于帮助女生或年轻女性通过商业和职业培训实现自立。

She said, "My personal favorite [thing] is being able to touch the lives of many young girls and women across not only Africa, but in the (United) States as well.”

她说：“我个人最喜欢的是不仅可以接触到非洲年轻女性的生活，而且也可以了解到美国女性的生活。”

Udukwu lives in Washington, D.C., but travels to Nigeria often. She attended Temple University in Philadelphia and studied public health. She plans to go to law school.

Udukwu如今居住在华盛顿，但她经常往返于尼日利亚。她在费城的天普大学完成学业，主修公共卫生专业。她如今计划去法律学校进修。

Words in This Story

forum – n. a meeting at which a subject can be discussed

customer – n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

patron – n. a person who gives money and support to an artist or organization

acquainted – adj. having met : knowing each other in a personal or social way