布什厚禮送夾克 布朗不領“情”

布什厚禮送夾克 布朗不領“情”
Bush gives Brown a bomber

US President George W. Bush gave Brown a present of a fur-trimmed leather bomber

It is an unlikely gift to give a man seldom seen out of a suit.

Perhaps the giver, George Bush, was stuck for ideas, and tried to think of something he'd like to find in his stocking on Christmas morning.

Or, more likely, he's trying a bit of subtle American humour on the recipient, Gordon Brown.

US President George W. Bush gave Brown a present of a fur-trimmed leather bomber -- or aviator -- jacket when the prime minister visited him at his Camp David retreat, north of Washington.

The brown jacket has a name tag with the prime minister's official title -- "Rt Hon (Right Honourable) Gordon Brown" -- on the left breast and a Camp David badge with the presidential seal on the other.

The gift, in a large, gold-papered box, was left in full view in Brown's chartered British Airways Boeing 767 jet as it returned to London on July 31.

Brown's first meeting as prime minister with Bush was a far cry from the get-together between Mr. Bush and Tony Blair in 2001, at which the President wore his own bomber jacket and Mr. Blair a pair of very tight purple cords.

And the contrast was apparently deliberate-Downing Street is said to believe the 2001 meeting set the tone for a relationship that made it difficult for Mr. Blair to speak candidly to Mr. Bush.

In any case, the new Prime Minister rarely goes out in public in anything but a jacket and tie.

The value of the jacket from President Bush is likely to exceed the ￡140 limit on ministerial gifts, which means Mr Brown must decide whether to buy it.

Although Brown reaffirmed the "special relationship" between the two countries and continued support for the fight against global extremism, he did not give a gung-ho impression of wanting to be Bush's "wing man".

far cry :大不相同的東西

gung-ho:起勁的；強烈的

送這個禮物給一個習慣穿西裝的人似乎有點不討巧。

也許是布什實在想不出送什麼禮物好，所以索性就送了個他自己希望得到的聖誕禮物。

或者更可能的是，他想在戈登·布朗身上玩一把美國式幽默。

英國首相戈登·布朗在華盛頓北部的總統度假山莊戴維營會見美國總統布什時，收到布什送給他的一件毛領皮製飛行員夾克。

這件棕色夾克的左胸處有一個帶有“戈登·布朗閣下”字樣的標籤，右胸處則綴有一個“戴維營”徽章和總統印章。

7月31日，在布朗首相乘坐英國航空波音767包機返回倫敦的途中，這個裝在一個大金色紙盒中的禮物被打開。

布朗出任首相後與布什的首次會面與2001年布萊爾與布什的會面截然不同，當時布什穿了件飛行員夾克，而布萊爾則穿了條緊身燈芯絨褲。

這一差別顯然是有意爲之--據說，唐寧街認爲2001年的會面爲之後的英美關係奠定了基調，布萊爾總是很難與布什總統開誠佈公的對話。

無論怎樣，英國的新首相還是習慣以西裝革履的形象出現在公衆面前。

布什總統送給布朗的這件夾克價值可能超過了140英鎊的限額（英國政府規定內閣官員在外交事務中可接收的私人禮物限額爲140英鎊），這意味着布朗必須得拿主意是否要掏腰包買這件禮物。

儘管布朗首相一再重申兩國的“關係不同尋常”，而且將繼續支持全球反恐戰爭，但他並沒有表現出要當布什“小跟班”的意思。