布什讲述离任后生活:已习惯捡拾狗粪大纲

Former US president George W. Bush says he made a swift transition from White House pampering to picking up his pet's poop, according to a news report Wednesday.

Bush told a packed university lecture hall in his home state of Texas on Tuesday that, shortly after leaving Washington, he faced a decidedly un-stately moment when his dog Barney relieved himself on a neighbor's lawn.

"Ten days out of the presidency, there I was with a plastic bag in my hand, picking up that which I had been dodging for eight years," he was quoted as saying by the Tyler Morning Telegraph in remarks confirmed by his office.

The former president has mostly shied from the limelight since leaving office -- except for a high-profile stint raising money to help Haiti recover from a devastating earthquake -- and kept a low political profile.

But Bush now plans a round of interviews to coincide with the November 9 release of his book about his time in office, "Decision Points."

"This will come as a shock to some people in our country who didn't think I could read a book, much less write one," joked the former president, who left office deeply unpopular amid the US economic crisis.

"It's not a judgmental book," he told some 2,000 people on the campus of the University of Texas at Tyler. "It's not a 'Bush is cool' (book)."

The former president spared a little bit of nostalgia for his eight years in office, telling the audience: "I miss being pampered; I miss Air Force 1; I miss being commander in chief of an awesome (military)."

The former president's book is expected to have a first run of 1.5 million copies, along with an e-book version containing a video message from the former president and his home movies, Crown publishers said earlier this month.

The huge print run is equivalent to that for former Democratic president Bill Clinton's book, "My Life," which was a runaway hit.

本周三最新报道称，美国前总统乔治•W•布什表示自己很快适应了角色转变——从“养尊处优”的美国总统到捡拾自家宠物粪便的普通人。

布什于本周二在家乡得克萨斯州的一所大学发表演讲，礼堂内座无虚席。他称离任后不久，爱狗巴尼在邻居家草坪上“随地大小便”，使他不得不面对明显让自己丢份儿的时刻。

《泰勒电讯早报》向布什办公室证实后引述他的话称：“离任才10天，我就开始手提塑料袋收拾狗粪，我已经8年没干过这活儿了。”

前总统布什自离任后极少公开露面，一直保持低调的政治姿态，但在海地强震后曾为帮助募集善款高调亮相。

但为了配合11月9日将出版的讲述其白宫岁月的书籍《抉择时刻》，他计划接受一系列采访。

布什开玩笑说：“这可能让很多美国人感到震惊，他们认为我连读书都不会，更别说写书了。”布什离任时恰逢美国经济危机，支持率很低。

布什对得克萨斯大学泰勒分校的大约两千名观众说：“这本书既没有动辄指责别人，也没有自我夸耀。”

这位前总统还分享了一些对8年白宫生活的留恋之情，他对观众说：“我怀念在白宫养尊处优的生活；怀念‘空军一号’；怀念担任一个强大军队统帅的感觉。”

发行商皇冠出版社本月早些时候表示，《抉择时刻》预计首印150万册，同时还将发行含有布什视频信息及其家庭录像的电子书版本。

首版印刷量可比肩前民主党总统比尔•克林顿当年热销的书籍《我的生活》。

Vocabulary:

pampering: treated or gratified with extreme or excessive indulgence, kindness, or care（纵容的，娇养的）

un-state: to deprive (a person) of office or rank（使失去尊严或地位）

stint: a period of time spent doing something（从事某项工作或活动的时间）

nostalgia: a yearning for the return of past circumstances, events, etc.（怀旧之情，乡愁）

runaway: easily won, as a contest（巨大的胜利）