奧巴馬伕婦接受奧普拉採訪 互比聖誕禮物
The White House may be bedecked with baubles and awash with Christmas cheer, but its most famous resident appears a tad disgruntled with Santa.
When it comes to gifts, "I give nicer stuff than I get," President Barack Obama said half-jokingly in an interview aired on ABC television Sunday.
Quizzed about Christmas-time giving by Oprah Winfrey -- a close friend and backer from his hometown of Chicago -- Obama's candidness prompted a nudge from his co-interviewee, First Lady Michelle Obama.
"No way!" she shot back, "I gave you good gifts last year."
But Obama ceded little ground: "Absolutely -- aw, come on please," he said pointing to a double-stranded pearl necklace that was a gift for their wedding anniversary.
"Who gave you this?" he asked with a grin.
Michelle Obama may not be alone in questioning the president's claim to gift-giving greatness.
The 48-year-old was earlier criticized when he presented British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a DVD set of Hollywood films, which apparently did not work on a European player.
He also raised eyebrows by giving the Queen of England an iPod and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd a copy of the sheet music for "The Star Spangled Banner."
Obama meanwhile has received a taekwondo outfit from South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, a book from his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez and a jersey from a Stanley Cup-winning ice hockey team.
In the conversational interview, the US president said his all-time favorite gifts were a 10-speed bicycle he received one year and a basketball his estranged father gave him one Christmas.
"You know, I do remember the one time I met my father he was visiting during Christmas and he gave me a basketball and -- the degree to which I came to love basketball -- it wasn't until much later in life that I realized, 'Actually, he gave me that basketball,'" Obama recalled.
The intimate, hour-long special also features Winfrey's first one-on-one conversation with the president, an interview with the first couple and behind-the-scenes preparations for the holiday season at the White House.
現在的白宮可能已經掛滿了各種聖誕裝飾，洋溢着濃濃的聖誕氣氛，但這裏最著名的居民對聖誕老人卻似乎頗有微詞。
美國總統貝拉克•奧巴馬的一期訪談節目於上週日在ABC電視臺播出。奧巴馬在訪談中談到聖誕禮物時半開玩笑地說：“我送給別人的禮物總比我收到的好。”
當被主持人奧普拉•溫芙瑞問及聖誕節送禮物的問題時，奧巴馬的直言不諱引起一同接受採訪的第一夫人米歇爾•奧巴馬的不滿。老家同在芝加哥的奧普拉是奧巴馬的密友，也是他的支持者。
米歇爾反駁道：“不可能！我去年送給你的禮物就很好。”
但是奧巴馬沒有讓步的意思，他手指米歇爾戴的一條雙絞珍珠項鍊，一邊說：“那是絕對的——啊，先別急。”這條項鍊是他們結婚週年紀念時他送給米歇爾的禮物。
“這是誰送給你的？”他笑着問道。
儘管奧巴馬自認爲很會送禮物，但對此表示質疑的人遠不止米歇爾一人。
之前，48歲的總統先生因送給英國首相戈登•布朗一套好萊塢電影DVD合輯受到批評，因爲這份禮物貌似無法用歐洲的影碟機播放。
他還曾送給英國女王一款iPod音樂播放器，送給澳大利亞總理陸克文一份美國國歌《星條旗歌》的散頁樂譜，但這兩份禮物都不太如人意。
在收禮方面，奧巴馬曾收到韓國總統李明博贈送的一套跆拳道服，委內瑞拉總統烏戈•查韋斯贈送的一本書以及獲得“斯坦利杯”的冰球隊贈送的一套運動衫。
在訪談中，這位美國總統說這麼多年來在他收到的所有禮物中，他印象最深的是有一年收到的一輛十速自行車和一年聖誕節他的父親送給他的一個籃球。奧巴馬與父親的關係並不親密。
奧巴馬回憶說：“你知道嗎，我記得那次是父親聖誕節的時候來看我，當時他送給我一個籃球，後來我漸漸愛上了籃球，後來我才意識到，‘其實是父親讓我愛上了籃球’。”
這次敞開心扉的、長達一小時的訪談特別節目還包括奧普拉和總統一對一的對話，對第一夫婦的採訪以及白宮迎接聖誕節的幕後準備工作。
Vocabulary:
bedecked with:花花綠綠地裝飾
bauble:a small, showy ornament of little value; a trinket 美觀而無價值的東西
awash: overflowing with or as if with water 充滿的
a tad: to a small degree; somewhat 有點，有些
disgruntled: discontented 不滿的
raise eyebrows: to cause surprise or mild disapproval 引人側目，驚訝
sheet music:活頁樂譜
taekwondo: a Korean martial art similar to karate 跆拳道
jersey:a close-fitting knitted pullover shirt, jacket, or sweater 緊身套頭衫
