進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

Former US vice-president Dick Cheney's new memoir revives the fierce battles over US national security policies after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks as it rips open old wounds among aides to then president George W. Bush.

Cheney describes his upbringing on the Wyoming prairie where he hunted jackrabbits and learned to fish before turning his attention to his eight years in the Bush White House, where he pushed a "go-it-alone" world view that enraged his critics.

The book In My Time has grabbed headlines for Cheney's attempts to settle scores with foes such as former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Powell accused Cheney of taking "cheap shots" at his former colleagues.

Rice, in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, said she did not appreciate Cheney's "attacks on my integrity".

Beyond such skirmishes, the book also highlights how far the national security debate has shifted as the United States prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York.

Cheney's unapologetic defense of policies he advocated, such as harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects and interventionist foreign policy, surprised few in Washington.

Perhaps more surprising was the marked shift away from the vision championed by Cheney, who won many of the policy arguments in the early Bush years only to see his influence wane in the Republican president's second term.

"The majority of what is associated with Cheney and what Cheney embraces in the book - a unilateralist, American exceptionalist, 'our way or the highway' approach to the world - has been completely abandoned," said David Rothkopf, a former Bill Clinton administration official and author of a book about the White House National Security Council.

Questions:

1. Where was Cheney’s upbringing?

2. What is the name of the book?

3. What anniversary is the US about to mark?

Answers:

1. Wyoming.

2. In My Life.

3. 10th anniversary of the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.