VOA标准英语2012--US Cities Brace for Looming Fiscal Cliff
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十二月)
US Cities Brace 1 for Looming 2 Fiscal 3 Cliff
Like many American towns, Dixon, Illinois, is still struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and economic recession. Here, unemployment exceeds the national average. Residents are casting a nervous eye on Washington, where President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have been unable to agree on ways to curb 4 America’s runaway 5 national debt.
“I really wonder if they have thought things through,” said Dixon Mayor James Burke, who fears that an eventual 6 deal may limit tax deductions 7 for home owners, which could depress U.S. housing values. That, in turn, would constrain 8 property taxes on which local governments across America rely.
“The big question is: what is going to happen to the housing industry? The housing industry has been the backbone 9 of this economy in this country. I just wonder if the people in Washington really know what they are doing when they talk about that,” he said.
The threat of massive, across-the-board tax hikes and deep federal spending cuts has not spawned 10 action in the nation’s capital. Congress' top Democrat 11 and Republican acknowledge debt talks are deadlocked 12.
Washington was not always paralyzed by partisanship 13. In the 1990s, Former Democratic President Bill Clinton worked with a Republican Congress to balance the federal budget. A decade earlier, former Republican President Ronald Reagan worked with a Democratic Congress to reform Social Security, which provides income to retirees.
Reagan’s boyhood home still stands in Dixon, a national landmark 14 and a source of local pride. The Republican icon 15 would be horrified 16 by today's gridlock in Washington, according to Reagan home overseer Ann Lewis.
“I think he [Reagan] would be very unhappy. Were he president today, there would have been negotiations 17 going on long before this. Because he believed in bipartisan politics,” said Lewis.
Dixon is not alone in fearing fallout from America’s fiscal woes 18. Severe cutbacks in federal spending, known as sequestration, would impact many programs relied on by cities and towns across the nation, according to Michael Wallace of the National League of Cities.
“Cities have already been through a recession, and have done the hard work to overcome that. What they really need Congress to do right now is just to do no more harm. And failing to do anything on sequestration is certainly harm,” said Wallace.
The Dixon mayor is taking a wait-and-see approach. “The business community has a lot of confidence. Now, whether this fiscal cliff is going to bring all that to a screeching 19 halt, I don't know,” said Burke.
- My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
- You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。
- The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
- The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
- The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。
- I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
- You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
- The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
- He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
- Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
- Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。
- Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
- You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。
- She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
- The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。
- The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
- The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。
- The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
- The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。
- 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。
- The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
- The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。
- Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
- There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学
- The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
- The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
- They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
- Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。
- The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
- We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。
- negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
- Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
- Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
- She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。
- Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
- the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景