Bush opts for low-key birthday celebration

If US President George W. Bush felt any angst about turning 60 on last Thursday, he sure wasn't showing it.

"Let me just say this - it's a lot younger than you think," Bush said. An avid biker who quit drinking at 40, Bush prides himself on his physical fitness.

Born in 1946, Bush is a member of the huge postwar "baby boom" generation. His press secretary, Tony Snow, portrayed the birthday as "just another day".

"He feels like it's one day after being 59," Snow said. "You know the president. It's not the sort of thing where he's sitting around somewhere looking at his watch and saying, oh man, I got an achy knee."

Although his birthday was on Thursday, Bush began celebrating at a Fourth of July dinner that included family and friends. He showed up in a red-and-white Hawaiian shirt.

As for gifts, Bush got a belt buckle from visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and cuff links from staff.

Later, in Chicago, Bush blew out the candles on a birthday cake at a dinner in a basement room at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant.

"I've got a lot of birthday wishes," said Bush. "I hope our troops are safe, I hope Roger Ebert does well. I know a lot of people here in Chicago are pulling for him."

Ebert, a Chicago film critic with a nationwide following, had emergency cancer surgery recently.

(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

angst:a feeling of anxiety or apprehension often accompanied by depression（焦虑；忧虑）

sit around :无所事事

basement: 地下室

following:a group or gathering of admirers（崇拜者；追随者）

上周四，美国总统布什迎来60岁生日，如果说总统先生对此感到焦虑的话，他还真的没有表现出来。

布什说：“我只想说，我比你们想象的要年轻的多。”这位铁杆自行车手在40岁时就戒了酒，他对自己的健康状况很有信心。

布什于1946年出生，属于战后“婴儿潮”的一代。布什总统的新闻秘书托尼·斯诺称他的60岁生日“只不过是普通的一天”。

斯诺说：“他觉得60岁生日就是59岁后的一天而已。大家应该了解总统。他不会无所事事的在某处呆着，一边看着表一边说，哦，我膝盖疼，（我老了）。”

虽然布什的生日是在星期四，但是在7月4日（美国独立日）这一天，布什就邀请了家人和朋友共进晚餐，庆祝生日。布什身穿红白相间的夏威夷式衬衫出现在宴会上。

布什收到的生日礼物中，包括目前正在美国访问的加拿大总理史蒂文·哈珀送给他的一个腰带扣，和白宫工作人员送的护腕。

之后，在芝加哥消防队餐馆地下室举行的生日宴会上，布什吹灭了生日蛋糕上的蜡烛。

布什说：“我收到了很多生日祝福。我希望我们的军队能够平平安安，我希望罗杰·伊伯特一切都好。我知道芝加哥的很多人都对他深表同情。”

伊伯特是芝加哥的一位影评人，在美国拥有众多崇拜者。近日，他因患癌症做了急救手术。