An odd couple: Macron visits Trump
① The improbable friendship between France's and America's presidents will be on display today when Emmanuel Macron arrives in Washington, DC for a state visit.
② After dining with their wives this evening at Mount Vernon, George Washington's plantation residence, the two presidents will hold bilateral meetings tomorrow before Mr Macron addresses a joint session of Congress the next day.
③ The two leaders—one a brash former reality-television host, the other an erudite philosophy graduate—could scarcely be more different.
④ But they have struck up a strangely warm relationship.
⑤ Ever optimistic, Mr Macron will hope to secure something for his efforts, and is particularly keen to try to stop Donald Trump walking away from the Iran nuclear deal.
⑥ His speech to Congress is likely to focus not only on Franco-American ties but on liberal values in a dangerous world—a message, naturally, addressed to the American people rather than his host.
▍生詞好句
odd /?d/: adj. 古怪的；奇怪的
odd couple: 奇怪的一對
improbable /?m?pr?b?b(?)l/: adj. 不大可能發(fā)生的（unlikely）
it's (highly) improbable that: ……不大可能/極不可能發(fā)生
on display /d??sple?/: 陳列；展覽；受到眾人注視
state visit: 國事訪問
Mount Vernon /?v??n?n/: 弗農(nóng)山莊
plantation /plɑ?n?te??(?)n/: n. 種植園
residence /?r?z?d(?)ns/: n. 住所；官邸
bilateral /b???lat(?)r(?)l/: adj. 雙邊的
bilateral meeting: 雙邊會議
joint session of Congress: 美國國會聯(lián)席會議
brash /bra?/: adj.（行為舉止）粗俗傲慢的；（衣服）花里胡哨的
reality television/TV show: 真人秀
apprentice /??pr?nt?s/: n. 學徒；學徒工（The Apprentice《飛黃騰達》是川普主持并監(jiān)制的一檔綜藝節(jié)目）
erudite /?er?da?t/: adj. 博學的；博大精深的
scarcely /?sk??sli/: adv. 幾乎不
strike up (friendship) /str??k/: 建立（友誼）
strike a balance: 達成平衡
keen /ki?n/: adj. 熱切的；渴望的
be keen on (doing) sth. / be keen to do sth.: 熱衷于
Franco- /?fra?k??/: 法國的；法國與另一國的
host /h??st/: n. 東道主
