时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(六月)


英语课
By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
21 June 2007

A group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers Thursday introduced legislation that would boost agricultural trade with Cuba and lift the U.S. travel ban to the communist-ruled island nation.  VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.






Fidel Castro (file photo)


Fidel Castro (file photo)



The United States forbids its citizens from traveling to Cuba or doing business with that country, although Congress in 2000 did authorize 2 limited food and medicine exports there that are purchased with cash.


The Bush administration defends the embargo 3, put in place in 1962, saying it is necessary to press the communist-led government toward democratic change.


The United States and Cuba do not have diplomatic relations.


But critics, including Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, say the U.S. embargo has outlived its purpose:


"The only ones who are hurt by our efforts to try to isolate 4 Cuba in trade are our producers here in America," he said.  "Those who have benefited are Brazil or China or Vietnam or other places who are glad to step in and pick up these markets."


Senator Crapo is one of several House and Senate lawmakers from both political parties who have introduced two companion bills aimed at easing the embargo by lifting the travel ban and boosting agricultural trade with Cuba.


One bill overturns a 2005 Treasury 5 Department rule that imposed restrictions 6 on agricultural sales to Cuba.  Sponsors of the measure say the restrictions, including a requirement that shipments be paid for in full before leaving U.S. ports, have effectively reduced agricultural exports to Cuba.


Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat 1, is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee:


"We not only intend to allow cash-based food sales to Cuba, we mean to promote them," he explained.  "Our bill will make these sales cheaper and easier to pursue, especially for smaller exporters, and requires USDA to promote agriculture sales to Cuba just like other growth markets."


The other bill introduced Thursday lifts all restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba.  Current law only allows limited travel by Cuban-Americans, religious groups, and academics.  All such travel has been severely 7 curtailed 8 by the Treasury Department since 2001.


Previous efforts to lift the ban on trade and travel to Cuba have not succeeded amid White House veto threats.


But Senator Baucus believes there is growing congressional support for easing the embargo on Cuba, and he argues that President Bush, with his low ratings in public opinion polls and about a year and a half left in his term, is wielding 9 less influence with Congress.


"His power in Congress is diminishing by the day, and it is my hope, therefore, that we can get this passed, and we are going to keep working at it until we get it done," he said.


House and Senate committees are expected to take up the legislation in the coming months.




n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员
  • The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
  • About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后,他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
v.授权,委任;批准,认可
  • He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
  • Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。
n.禁运(令);vt.对...实行禁运,禁止(通商)
  • This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
  • During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间,他们禁止与敌国通商。
vt.使孤立,隔离
  • Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
  • We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
v.截断,缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )
  • Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
  • Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的现在分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响)
  • The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
  • He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。
学英语单词
adsorption chromatography
Aguas Zarcas
Aimargues
air feeder
Alleppey
Almen extreme pressure lubricant testing machine
annuniciator
ASCB
barley sugar
beddy-bye(s)
Bethnal Green
blueing process
body-snatcher
broad-brim
Bulbophyllum reptans
carcelle
celery leaf spot
certificate of bank balances
charge position
Computing Surface
curriculums
Dali City
dress-coated
eight-year study
Eun.
extramaster
follow ... inclinations
free-electron laser
fringe setae
frontierlands
gauze kerchief
girals
graverobbers
griddlecakes
higher-ranked
index of scanning helix
keel clearance
Korean Strait
Lented
LF reject
lienomycin
llano
low potential metal
lumped parameter circulator
macroamylasemic
melting speed ratio
mode of deformation
mother-of-thousands
Mount's Bay
non riparian
nonrefugee
north-easterners
Old Pretender
oligodotia
Oloiserri
organouranium compound
passive incontinence
ping-pong buffer
plain module board
planimetric line
plate cylinder
poker coordinates
prefacive
pulpitis
rairoad engineering
range span
record-collector
Rhododendron hukwangense
salween r.
segled card
Selma chalk
shock position
sounding device
stauntonin
stores fund
supernutrition
surirella voigtii
surplus
Suzuka-tōge
swr indicator
syndrome of stagnated gallbladder qi with disturbing phlegm
Sāngla
tetrahedral angle
thermoperiodicity
transverse occipital sulcus
trond
tub-fast
tummy crunch
Turbellaria
two-pence piece
ultra-high-speed lift
unhele
unobservable quantity
unsety
variable quadri-correlator
vicchio
wavefront advance
wet-bulbs
Wohlhynian fever
wtnh
Xuan Duong
zonary placentation