这是一个很离奇的故事，正好发生在一位记者身上，于是他就把它写了下来。
"Would you like to speak to the president?"
by Dan Balz
I was at a brasserie（法式平价餐馆） in the Latin Quarter, enjoying dinner with James McAuley, The Washington Post's Paris correspondent. We had been talking for two hours or more, about all manner of things, including American politics, the president and the Democratic field for 2020.
Latin /ˈlætɪn/ Quarter 是巴黎的一个地区
correspondent /ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndənt/ n. 驻外记者
all manner of 形形色色的、各式各样的
politics /ˈpɒlətɪks/ n. 政治
Democratic /ˌdeməˈkrætɪk/ adj. （美国）民主党的
field /fiːld/ n. 全体参赛者（这里指所有在2020年竞选美国总统的人）
A man at an adjacent table, whose back was to us, turned around, cellphone in hand, and asked me, "Would you like to speak to the president?"
adjacent /əˈdʒeɪs(ə)nt/ adj. 靠近的、邻近的
turn around 转过身来
cellphone /ˈselfəʊn/ n. 手机
I was more than surprised by his words. The idea that it was President Trump on the other end seemed too weird to be real.
President Trump /trʌmp/ 特朗普总统
weird /wɪəd/ adj. 奇怪的、离奇的
I took the phone, wondering what kind of hoax was about to be played on us. "Hello, Mr. President," I said. The voice at the other end of the line was unmistakable. It was President Trump.
hoax /həʊks/ n. 骗局、恶作剧
unmistakable /ˌʌnmɪˈsteɪkəb(ə)l/ adj. 不会弄错的、确定无疑的（由mistake加后缀-able变成形容词mistakable，再加上表示否定的前缀un-）
With the president on the line, whatever the circumstances, I thought I should try to elicit something newsworthy from him.
on the line 在通话中
whatever /wɒtˈevə(r)/ pron. 不管什么…
circumstance /ˈsɜːkəmstɑːns/ n. 情形、状况
elicit /ɪˈlɪsɪt/ v. 弄到、获得
newsworthy /ˈnjuːzˌwɜːði/ adj. 有新闻价值的（由news和worthy组成）
"Mr. President," I asked, "when are you going to settle the shutdown?" He said it needed to be resolved soon, but he made it abundantly clear that no discussions of any kind were underway and that his terms had not softened.
settle /ˈset(ə)l/ v. 解决（争端、纠纷等）
shutdown /ˈʃʌtdaʊn/ n. 关闭、停业（由shut和down组成；这里指美国联邦政府的一些部门关门）
resolve /rɪˈzɒlv/ v. 解决
abundantly /əˈbʌnd(ə)ntli/ adv. 极其
underway /ˌʌndəˈweɪ/ adj. 进行中
terms /tɜːmz/ n. 条件、条款
soften /ˈsɒf(ə)n/ v. 软化（由soft加后缀-en变成动词）
I tried a few other lines of inquiry on the shutdown, but in the snippets of conversation, no news was being made.
line of inquiry /ɪnˈkwaɪəri/ 查找信息的方法
snippet /ˈsnɪpɪt/ n. 片段、一小段
"I hear you've been saying nice things about me," the president volunteered.
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ v. 主动提供信息
The statement caught me by surprise and I demurred. The man at the table next to us had mentioned to the president that, even in Paris, people were talking about him. "Are they still there? Let me speak to them," the president had said, I later learned.
statement /ˈsteɪtmənt/ n. （某人）说的话
catch someone by surprise 让某人大吃一惊
demur /dɪˈmɜː(r)/ v. 提出异议
He seemed to believe he had a sympathetic American on the other end of the phone. But with my noncommittal（态度不明的） response, he seemed a bit puzzled.
sympathetic /ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk/ adj. 同情的、赞同的
response /rɪˈspɒns/ n. 回答、回应
puzzled /ˈpʌz(ə)ld/ adj. 迷惑的、感到费解的
I identified myself. He seemed to be as surprised by the fact that he had a Washington Post reporter on the line as I had been to think that a man at a table next to mine was actually talking to the president of the United States.★
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 表明身份
★ 这句话的主体是：He seemed to be as surprised by the fact ... as I had been to think that ...
All of this transpired in less than two minutes, at which point the owner of the phone signaled that he wanted to take back the call. I handed him the phone.
transpire /trænˈspaɪə(r)/ v. （以前不知道的事情）被知道
signal /ˈsɪɡn(ə)l/ v. 发信号、示意
When the man with the phone ended the call, he turned back to us with a smile. "I'm Joe Kernen of CNBC," he said.
turn back 转身
CNBC 是一家美国电视台
Kernen is a well-known co-anchor of the morning program "Squawk Box." He was on his way to Davos, Switzerland, for next week's World Economic Summit. He was supposed to have had an interview with the president there, but Trump had canceled his Davos trip because of the shutdown.
co- 前缀，意思是共同
anchor /ˈæŋkə(r)/ n. 新闻主播
Switzerland /ˈswɪtsələnd/ n. 瑞士
economic /ekəˈnɒmɪk/ adj. 经济的（由economy加后缀-ic变成形容词）
summit /ˈsʌmɪt/ n. 峰会
interview /ˈɪntəvjuː/ n. 采访
Trump was calling Kernen to express his regrets that the interview had been scrubbed. Unexpectedly, he ended up briefly talking to me as well.
express /ɪkˈspres/ v. 表达
regret /rɪˈɡret/ n. 遗憾、惋惜
scrub /skrʌb/ v. 取消（原有安排）
unexpectedly /ˌʌnɪkˈspektɪdli/ adv. 出乎意料地（由expect的过去分词加上表示否定的前缀un-变成unexpected，再加后缀-ly变成副词）
end up 以…告终
briefly /ˈbriːfli/ adv. 短暂地、简短地（由brief加后缀-ly变成副词）
as well = too
That was that. Just another night in a foreign capital. Just another bizarre moment and a chance encounter with the president of the United States.
bizarre /bɪˈzɑː(r)/ adj. 奇怪的、不寻常的
chance /tʃɑːns/ n. 偶然
encounter /ɪnˈkaʊntə(r)/ n. 相遇
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