VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Has First Full Day as President

（单词翻译）

President Barack Obama began his first full day in office with a prayer service at Washington's National Cathedral. The ecumenical prayer service preceded what is expected to be a busy day focusing on national security and economic matters.
　
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice¹ President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden attend a service at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, 21 Jan 2009

Celebrants of more than a dozen faiths and religious denominations² led an invitation-only service, and urged leaders on earth to maintain their faith and heed³ the teachings of God. National Cathedral Dean Samuel Lloyd noted⁴ that President Obama's plate is full with worldly concerns.

"Now the [Obama] administration goes to work - this is their first full day on the job," said Dean Lloyd. "And the best way we can imagine to begin is by praying with them. And for them. We have given them a great deal to do."

Mr. Obama was accompanied by his wife Michelle. Also attending were Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who at that hour was awaiting Senate confirmation⁵ as Secretary of State.

The service featured prayers for divine guidance for the new administration. Reverend Sharon Watkins is president of the Disciples⁶ of Christ Church.

"The leaders of this nation, we need you to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long ago: to work for the common good, for the public happiness, the well-being⁷ of the nation and the world, knowing that our individual well-being depends on a world in which liberty and justice prevail," said Reverend Watkins.

Other celebrants included Jewish Rabbis, a Catholic bishop⁸, a Greek Orthodox Christian⁹ archbishop, the president of the Islamic Society of America, and the head of the Hindu Temple Society of North America.

The post-inaugural¹⁰ religious service extends back to America's first president, George Washington, who began the tradition. President Obama regularly speaks of faith and his belief in God, but made a point in his inaugural address to say that America derives¹¹ its strength from its diversity, which he said includes non-believers.

While pausing for prayer, the wheels of the Obama administration were already turning on more than one front.

In one of his first acts as president, Mr. Obama took action to bring about a suspension of military trials for terror suspects at the U.S. detention¹² facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The president has said he wants to close down the site, where the U.S. still holds about 245 men.

The president's first full day in office also includes a meeting with his top national security and military advisors¹³ to start re-evaluating the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He will also tackle the economic crisis. Mr. Obama is expected to issue new regulations to force greater transparency on the part of financial institutions that receive government rescue money.