奥巴马将“第四次”宣誓就任总统

US President Barack Obama takes the official oath of office from US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as Obama is sworn in for his second term as the 44th President of the United States, at the White House in Washington January 20, 2013.

奥巴马就职典礼专题

President Barack Obama took the official oath for his second term on Sunday at the White House in a small, private ceremony that set a more subdued tone compared to the historic start of his presidency four years ago.

Gathered with his family in the Blue Room on the White House's ceremonial main floor, Obama put his hand on a family Bible and recited the 35-word oath that was read out loud by US Chief Justice John Roberts.

"I did it," Obama said as he hugged his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia. "Thank you, sweetie," he told Michelle when she congratulated him. "Good job, Dad. You didn't mess up," 11-year-old Sasha Obama told her father.

It was a low-key start to the first African-American US president's second term, which is likely to be dominated - at least at the start - by budget fights with Republicans and attempts to reform gun control and immigration laws.

Obama, 51, will be sworn in publicly on Monday outside the West Front of the Capitol overlooking the National Mall in front of as many as 800,000 people, a much bigger ceremony replete with a major address and a parade.

Downtown Washington was all but locked down with heavy security. Many streets were closed, lined with barricades. Police sirens blared. Outside the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, an elaborate presidential viewing stand encased in bullet-proof glass was set up for Obama and other VIPs to watch the parade.

Sunday's ceremony, shown live on television, was needed because the US Constitution mandates that the president take office on January 20. Planners opted to go with a private ceremony on the actual date and then hold the ceremonial inaugural activities the next day.

By Monday, Obama will have been sworn in four times, two for each term, putting him equal to Franklin Roosevelt, who won four terms. A second Obama swearing-in was deemed necessary in 2009 when Robertsflubbed the first one. On Sunday, Roberts read the oath carefully from a card and there were no mistakes.

Obama, who won a second four years on November 6 by defeating Republican Mitt Romney after a bitter campaign, opens round two facing many of the same problems that dogged his first term: persistently high unemployment, crushing government debt and a deep partisan divide over how to solve the issues.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

贝拉克•奥巴马总统上周日在白宫举行了一个小型私人仪式，正式宣誓就职，开始他的第二任期。相比他四年前就任总统的历史性开端，这次就职典礼要低调得多。

在举行仪式的白宫主楼层上，奥巴马和家人一起聚集在蓝厅里，将手放在一本家用圣经上，在美国首席大法官约翰•罗伯茨的高声领诵下，诵读35个词的就职誓言。

在宣读完誓言后，奥巴马拥抱妻子米歇尔和女儿萨莎、玛利亚，说，“我做到了。”在米歇尔祝贺他时，他对米歇尔说：“谢谢你，亲爱的。”11岁的萨莎•奥巴马告诉父亲说：“爸爸，做得好。你没有搞砸哦。”

作为历史上首位非裔美籍的美国总统，奥巴马第二任期的开端很低调。第二任期的大部分时间

现年51岁的奥巴马将于周一在国会大厦西侧公开宣誓就职。80万人将在国会大厦俯瞰下的国家广场观看奥巴马的就职典礼，奥巴马将在这个盛大得多的典礼上发表重要讲话，还将举行阅兵仪式。

华盛顿市中心已经被严密的保安系统重重包围。许多街道都被禁止通行，并在街道两边设置了路障。街上轰鸣着警笛。白宫外的宾夕法尼亚大道上精心搭建了一个用防弹玻璃墙包围起来的总统观礼台，让奥巴马和其他重要领导人可以安全地在台上观看阅兵仪式。

周日的宣誓仪式将实时在电视上直播，之所以举行这一仪式是因为美国宪法规定总统必须在1月20日这天就职。策划者选择在20日当天举行私人仪式，然后在第二天举行正式的就职典礼活动。

到周一那天，奥巴马将宣誓就职四次，每个任期宣誓两次，这将使他的宣誓次数和连任四届总统的富兰克林•罗斯福持平。2009年奥巴马有必要第二次宣誓就职是因为罗伯茨在第一次宣誓领诵时出了错。上周日，罗伯茨看着卡片小心翼翼地领诵誓词，结果没有出错。

在激烈的竞选中打败共和党人米特•罗姆尼后，奥巴马于去年11月6日赢得了第二个四年任期，从此将和第一任期遇到的许多老问题展开第二轮对决：居高不下的失业率、堆积如山的政府债务和关于如何解决问题的严重党派分歧。

Vocabulary:

subdued: 低调的

swear in: 使宣誓就职

all but: 几乎完全的；简直是

flub: 说错，出错；把……弄糟