以下是留学群小编为大家带来的英语听力练习原文及音频：美国总统英语访谈录采访奥巴马03：我家有女初长成。详细内容如下：
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Reporter: We live in the era of Jamie Spears getting pregnant at 16，of teenage girls making “prcgnaiu.y pacts” - how concerned are you about the culture your daughters are growing up in?
记者：我们生活在16岁的杰米斯皮 尔斯怀孕的时代，生活在一个十几岁的女 孩们立“怀孕盟约”的时代，你对你的女 儿们成长的这种文化背景有怎样的顾虑?
Obama: Michelle and I are constantly monitoring what our daughters absorb from the culture. And I don’t think we’re alone in feeling that the way the culture exualizes young girls is a problem — that it encroaches on their childhood. Now, Michelle and I aren't prudes, and Michelle has frank conversations with the girls. Malia will be going into pubertv soon, so we want them to be well-informed.
奥巴马：我和米歇尔都一直在关注我们 的女儿在这种文化中受到了怎样的影 响。我觉得我们大多数人都认为，这个 让女孩子越来越性感的文化的确是一个 问题——这种文化正在侵犯着她们的童 年。现在，我和米歇尔不是故作正经， 而是和女儿进行坦率的对话。玛利亚很快就要进入青春期了，所以我们希望她 们懂得必要的知识。
Reporter: So the birds-and-the-bees conversation has already happened.
记者：所以关于性的常 识的谈话已经进行了?
Obama: Well, more or less. But the point is we want them to grow up with a strong sense of self. We want them to feel that they’re being judged on their smarts and their competitiveness and their compassion, and not just, you know, looking cute. So, we talk a lot to them about what values they should be internalizing. Michelle and I agree that our job as parents is really to allow them to make good choices.
奥巴马：嗯，或多或少。但是关键是我们想 要随着年龄的增长她们 的自我意识也随着增 强。我们想要她们懂得 社会是看她们是否聪 明，是否具有竞争力，是否充满热情，而不 是，你知道，看她们是 否漂亮。所以我们跟她们谈了很多，关 于她们如何美化自己内在的价值观。我 和米歇尔都同意，父母的责任是让她们 作出明智的选择。
Reporter: Is it working?
记者：有效吗?
Obama： I think we’ve done a pretty good job. Malia and Sasha are very down on Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Malia is the first one to change if something suddenly comes on that she thinks is inappropriate. If a song comes on the radio that she doesn’t think is sensible, she will change it. On the other hand, she’s a big fan of Hannah Montana. And when Miley Cyrus had that picture in Vanity Fair, she just offered this very sensible opinion. She said，“Well, she seems like a good person. Her family seems to love her. Everybody makes mistakes, so I hope that people won’t judge her for just this one picture.”
奥巴马：我认为我们做得不错。玛利亚和萨沙都不喜欢布莱尼斯皮尔斯和帕里斯希尔顿。玛利亚是那种一 旦感到事情不合适，就会立即转变的女 孩。如果她听收音机，听到她觉得不好 的音乐，也会当即换台。另一方面，她 也是《汉娜蒙娜塔》的粉丝。当米 莉赛鲁斯在《名利场》电影中拍了 这样一张照片后，她发表了非常理智的 看法。她说：“嗯，她看起来像好人。 她的家人好像喜欢她。每个人都会犯 错，所以我希望人们不 会因为这一张照片而指 责她。”
Reporter: Is there anything you don’t let them look at?
记者：有没有哪些东西 你不让她们看的?
Obama: We don’t let them use the Internet without one of us being there. We want to make sure that they’re not landing on some site that would make us blanch.
奥巴马：在我们之一不 在场的情况下，我们不 让她们上网。我们想确 保她们不会登陆一些让 我们看着脸发白的网 站。
Reporter: What’s it like living in a house full of females?
记者：生活在被女人包 围的家里感觉如何?
Obama: It’s wonderful, but I end up being the butt of a lot of jokes. You know, “Daddy’s leaving his big shoes in the middle of the floor.” “Daddy’s hanging his pants on the doorknob again.” “Daddy only has three pairs of shoes, and they’re really old.”
奥巴马：很好，但是我 总是那个有很多笑柄的人。你知道，像 “爸爸把他的大鞋扔到地中间了”，“爸 爸又把裤子挂到门把上了”，“爸爸只有 三双鞋，都好旧啊”。
Reporter: When Michelle becomes first lady，how will she transition to the ultimate wifely role?
记者：米歇尔成为第一夫人以后，她的 角色会转成全职太太吗?
Obama: Michelle’s very comfortable in her own skin. And I like that skin, of course. So I don’t want her changing, and I don’t think she’s looking to change. Michelle’s not somebody who wants to be deeply involved in policy development. She’s my closest friend and my most important adviser. But I don’t anticipate her sitting around the table trying to figure out tax policy. She’ll probably choose a project that she cares about.But her number-one priority is going to be these kids, and making sure that their transition is one in which the wonderful normalcy that they have is maintained.
奥巴马：米歇尔对她自己很满意。当然 我也很满意现在的她。所以我不想让她 转变，我也不觉得她想要转变。米歇尔 不是那种想和政治发展紧密联系的人。 她是我最亲密的朋友，也是我最重要的 参谋。但是我想象不出她会坐在桌子旁边，为税收政策绞尽脑汁。她很可能选择一个她关注的项目。但是她的首要重心还是孩子，以确保她们能健康快乐正 常的成长。
Reporter: Do you think she，s misunderstood?
记者：你认为她被误解了吗?
Obama: Not by people who've been paying attention. I think that if you’ve been watching Fox News then probably she’s misunderstood, because I do think there’s been a fairly systematic attempt by the conservative press to paint her in a completely one gaffe or statement she made about being proud of her country for the first time, which, as Laura Bush acknowledged, was not something that Michelle had meant — that she had not been proud of her country before. And her very legitimate criticisms of how families are being treated and the difficulty for so many women of balancing family and work was painted as her being this caricature of an false way. They latched onto the angry person. Anybody who knows her well knows she’s got the best sense of humor of. anyone you’d ever want to meet. She’s the most quintessentially American person I know.
奥巴马：那些一直关注她的人不会误解 她。我认为，如果你一直看福克斯新闻 的话，可能她会被误解，因为我认为那 些保守的出版社完全曲解她是出于体制 原因。他们紧紧抓住一次失态或她第一 次为自己的祖国骄傲的议论，这正如劳 拉布什所 说，米歇尔不 是那个意思， 不是说她之前 从没有为祖国 骄傲过。她关 于家庭如何被 看待的合法的 评论，以及说 很多女人要平 衡家庭和事业 很困难，这些话让媒体把她化成了一个愤怒之人的讽剌漫画。真正认识她的人 都知道，她很有幽默感，是那种每个人 都想接近的幽默感，她是我认识的最典 型的美国人。
Reporter: How so?
记者：为什么这么说?
Obama: She grew up in an Ozzie and Harriet household, with mom, dad, brother, dog — I don’t know about the dog, but... [Laughs]. Her dad worked all his life, despite having multiple sclerosis. Mom stayed at home. They loved each other and spent their time talking and supporting each other. Michelle went to public schools; her favorite show is The Dick Van Dyke Show; her favorite food is French fries; she shops at Target. She’s just a wonderfully normal, levelheaded person. Any American woman who meets her would immediately identify her as a fellow traveler.
奧巴马：她成长在一种“奥兹和哈里 特”那样的家庭中。她家有爸爸、妈 妈、弟弟还有一条狗——我不了解这条 狗，但是(笑)。她的爸爸辛苦了 一辈子，患上了多发性硬化症。她的妈 妈待在家里。他们很爱对方，一辈子都 互相交流，支持着对方。米歇尔上的是公立学校，最喜欢看的是《范戴克摇 滚音乐剧》，最喜欢吃法国炸薯片，在 塔基购物。她就是一个正常的、理智的 人。任何见到她的美国妇女都会立刻把 她当作伙伴。
Reporter: Do you think she had to wrestle with setting aside her own career to run with you?
记者：你认为她为了与你保持同步必须 要在撇开自己事业的问题上挣扎吗?
Obama: I think Michelle is like a lot of women of her generation in that she has carried within herself two very powerful ideas: one, that she's as smart as any man and can be as successful as any man in whatever she chooses. On the other hand, she loves being a mother. I’m not sure that the tension she felt, particularly when the girls were younger, had only to do with the fact that I was in politics or I was away. I think it is something that women generally are struggling with, probably because we have a society that doesn’t really provide a lot of support for women in those roles. We don't provide the kind of maternity and paternity leave that other countries do. Our childcare system is a patchwork, particularly if you don’t have a lot of income. It’s a difficult balance, and I don't think it's one that can be entirely solved by government. But certainly we can help put women in a better position to make the decision that’s right for them.
奥巴马：我想，米歇尔和很多同龄的女 人一样，脑子里一直有两个很坚定的想 法：一是要和男人一样聪明，不管自己 做什么都要能和男人一样成功。二是她 愿意做母亲。我不确定她感觉到的压 力，尤其是当孩子们还小，是否只跟政 治打交道或是不在家有关。我想这是一 般女性都要挣扎的问题，可能因为这个 社会没有真正的在这些角色上给予女性支持。我们没有像其他国家一样提供 那种父爱和母爱假 期。我们的育儿系 统是草草完成的， 特别是收入还不多 的时候。这是一个 艰难的平衡，我 不认为这个问题完 全可以由政府来解 决。而且肯定，我 们能帮助女性站在最好的角度上作出对 她们有利的决定。
Reporter: You’ve expressed concerns about your own failings as a husband and a father, particularly with being absent a lot and Michelle being angry about it. What are some of the accommodations you have made?
记者：你表达了自己作为丈夫和父亲的 失败的担心，尤其是你经常不在家，米 歇尔对此很生气。你做了哪些补偿?
Obama: One of the most important things was just her feeling like she was getting heard. I know that sounds a little cheap. But I think a lot of times women feel frustrated because men are just oblivious to the issue: “The kids are fine, happy and healthy, we got a nice house, why are you complaining?” And I think that when I let her know that I understood and heard what she was saying, I think that was important to her. And I’ll be honest with you—some of it was just, financially, we became less stretched. My books did well. As a consequence of my books doing well, suddenly it’s easier to get takeout whenever we feel like it. It’s easier to get a housekeeper to come in one or two days to help do the laundry or help clean up. It’s easier to do a lot of things that, frankly, the vast majority of American women can’t afford. But we’re not that far removed from the situation where this work was falling on her in a very heavy way.
奥巴马最重要的事情之一就是要让她 感到她说话时，我都听着。我知道听起 来很简单。但是我想很多时候，女人觉 得很挫败是因为男人总是重复一件事： “孩子们很好，很健康很快乐，我们有个漂亮的房子，你抱怨什么呢?”我认 为当我让她明白我理解她，并且真正听 进去她说的话时，对她很重要。跟你说 实话，我们经济上现在不那么紧张了。我的书卖得很 好。由于书销 量好，突然之 间我们变得可 以随时拿出钱 来。我们可以 每隔一两天请 清洁工来帮我 们洗衣服，打 扫卫生。我们 可以做很多事情了，坦率地说，这是大 部分美国女性无法负担得起的。但是我 们也仅仅是刚从什么家务都是她干的境 况中解脱出来。
Reporter: Before your books took off, you had a period where she was earning more than you were. How did that affect your relationship?
记者：你的书发行之前，有一段时间是 她赚钱比你多。这有没有影响到你们的 关系?
Obama: That wasn’t much of an issue, because the truth is，for 11 out of the 13 years we were married, I was making substantially more than her, and during the two years that I wasn’t, I was running for the United States Senate, which had its own gratifications. So it wasn’t as if I felt inadequate. I’ve got to say，I always found it great if she was making all kinds of money. I didn’t feel threatened by that at all. My grandmother generally earned more than my grandfather when I was in high school，so that probably makes me more comfortable with some of these issues than others would be.
奥巴马：这个不是什么大事。因为，事 实是，我们结婚的13年里，有11年， 我挣的钱要比她多很多。那两年是因为 我竞选美国议会议员，才没有她挣得 多，而竞选这件事也在某种程度上满足 了我们。所以，我没有觉得自己能力 不足。我不得不说，如果她挣出所有的 钱，我总会觉得这是很好的事情。我一 点儿也不会有危胁感。我上高中的时 候，我外婆挣钱一般都比外公多，所以， 这也能让我比别人更习惯这样的事情。
Reporter: You were at a fundraising breakfast with Hillary Clinton this morning. During one of the debates, you famously described her as being “likable enough?” Is she more likable now?
记者：你今天早晨和希拉里克林顿 一起吃了顿筹款早餐。在其中一次辩论 中，你对她的描述很著名，你说她“很 招人喜欢”。现在她更招人喜欢了吗?
Obama: That’s an example of where you say something awkwardly and it gets pounced on. Somebody says, “You’ve got a likability problem,” and the point I was trying to make was, I think that’s silly. Hillary Clinton is perfectly likable. But I was writing notes, I didn’t smile as much as I needed to, I said it，and suddenly everybody says, “Ah，that’s so patronizing!” Hillary Clinton is not only likable, but she's extraordinarily capable and smart and effective as an advocate. I think she and I are going to be working very well together and hopefully for years to come to try to change this country the way it needs to be changed.
奥巴马：这就是人说了一些蹩脚的话之 后得到报应的例子。有人说，“你在喜 j欢能力方面有问题”，但是关键我想说 |的是，那可真是傻话。希拉里克林 顿非常受人爱戴。但是我说这话时正在 做笔记，没有微笑，而我需要微笑地 说，结果，大家就突然说“啊，这太有 优越感了!”希拉里不仅仅让很多人喜 爱，而且她非常有能力，也是很聪明有 1效率的提倡者。我认为我和她将会在一 起工作得很好，希望未来几年，能够按 照需要的方式改变这个国家。
Reporter: Will she be in your cabinet?
记者：她会加入你的内阁吗?
Obama: I'm not going to speculate at this point. But what I know is that she’ll be at the center of the Democratic Party for a very long time.
奧巴马：这个我现在不能预测。但是我 知道很长一段时间她都将会是民主党的 中心人物。
Reporter: Discussing the importance of reading to kids, you said in the town meeting that you’ve read the Harry Potter books to your daughters. Who's your favorite character?
记者：说到给孩子读书的重要性，你 在镇民大会上说你给你的女儿读《哈 里波特》。你最喜欢哪个角色?
Obama: All the characters were wonderful. Dumbledore’s a very cool guy.
奥巴马：所有的角色都很棒。邓布利多 很酷。
Reporter: If your mom were still alive, what would she think of all this?
记者:如果你的妈妈还活着，她现在会 怎么想?
Obama: She would be bursting with pride. I don’t think so much about me as about her grandchildren — our daughters and my niece. For her to see these three beautiful, graceful, highly opinionated girls，that would bring her great joy.
奥巴马：她会充满骄傲。我想我不如她 的孙女们让她牵挂——我两个女儿和我 的侄女。她若能看到3个漂亮、优雅、 很有想法的女孩，一定会很高兴的。
