英语听力：VOA双语新闻—奥巴马促国会就财政问题采取行动

　　President Barack Obama on Wednesday held his first solo news conference since March, answering reporters' questions on issues ranging from Afghanistan and Libya, to the impasse 1 with Congress over federal deficit 2 reduction and raising the government's debt limit.

美国总统奥巴马星期三举行了记者招待会，这是自从今年3月以来，他首次独自面对媒体，就阿富汗和利比亚局势、联邦财政赤字、以及提高政府借贷上限等一系列问题，回答了记者的提问。

The news conference came amid public opinion polls showing Americans' frustration 3 with a slow economic recovery, high unemployment, and difficult negotiations 4 between Democrats 5 and Republicans on reducing the government's deficit spending and raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit.

在奥巴马举行记者招待会之际，民意调查显示，美国公众对经济复苏步伐缓慢、民主和共和两党之间在削减政府开支以及提高政府借贷上限等问题上僵持不下的局面颇为不满。

Mr. Obama elevated his role in the talks after Republicans walked out last week, objecting to Democrats' insistence 6 on eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy as part of what Mr. Obama says must be a balanced deficit reduction package.

上个星期，共和党方面离开了谈判桌，原因是民主党方面坚持要取消对富有阶层的赋税减免，把这作为奥巴马所说的平衡的削减预算计划的一部分，共和党对此非常反对。

The deficit and debt issue dominated the news conference. Calling Republican positions "unsustainable," Mr. Obama said a potential U.S. default on obligations on August 2 would be "significant" and have "unpredictable" results.

在星期三的记者招待会上，有关美国国内财政赤字和债务的话题成为了焦点。奥巴马总统称共和党人在这个问题上的观点和立场，是“不现实”的。他说，要是到了8月2号，美国政府在债务问题上拿不出具体的方案来的话，那么，后果会很严重。

The president addressed Republican assertions that he has not demonstrated enough leadership.

之前，共和党人指责奥巴马在这些问题上，没有展现出足够的领导能力。

"When they decide they are not happy with the fact that at some point you have got to make a choice, they just all step up and say, 'The president needs to get this done.' They need to do their job. Now is the time to go ahead and make the tough choices. That is why they are called leaders," he said.

对此，奥巴马总统说：“他们(共和党人)一旦觉得不高兴了，就说，‘这是总统份内的事儿。’事实上，他们要做的也很多。现在是必须要做出某些痛苦的选择的时候了；这也正是为什么他们也被称之为领袖。”

On the Senate floor earlier in the day, Senate Minority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, who met with Mr. Obama this week, criticized Democrats, saying that their main objective is to increase government spending.

星期三早些时候，参议院的少数党领袖、共和党人麦康奈尔再次批评民主党人，说民主党人要做的，无非是增加政府的开支。麦康奈尔本星期早些时候同奥巴马举行了会谈。

"Democrats spend beyond their means and now they expect a bailout from the taxpayers 7. That is what this debate is really all about. It's about holding Washington accountable for a change," he said.

麦康奈尔说：“民主党人一贯是入不敷出；现在呢，他们想要纳税人还这笔债。我们现在要争的，也正是这一点，是必须要让政府方面负起责任来的时候了。”

The president's news conference, which lasted a little more than an hour, came a week after he announced the start of a U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan and amid battles with Congress over legal justifications 8 for U.S. involvement in NATO-led military operations in Libya.

总统的新闻发布会持续了1个小时多一点。一个星期前，奥巴马宣布了阿富汗撤军计划。同时，白宫与国会就美国参与北约对利比亚的军事行动的法律正当性正进行争论。

On Afghanistan, Mr. Obama said the United States has been successful in decimating al-Qaida's leadership and ramping 9 up training for Afghan government forces.

关于阿富汗，奥巴马总统说，美国成功地大量消灭基地组织领导层，并加强了对阿富汗政府军的训练。

Asked about the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul this week, the president said it is clear that similar events are bound to occur, but that the overall direction in Afghanistan is positive.

在被问到关于这星期喀布尔洲际酒店遭袭击的事件时，奥巴马总统说，显然类似事件还会发生，但阿富汗的总体走势是积极的。

"We understood that Afghanistan is a dangerous place, that the Taliban is still active and that there are still going to be events like this on occasion. The question is, in terms of overall trend, is Afghan capacity increasing?," Obama said.

他说，“我们知道阿富汗是一个危险的地方，塔利班仍然很活跃，像这样的事件还会发生。问题是，谈到总体趋势，阿富汗的能力在提高吗？”

On Libya and the debate over consultation 10 with Congress on U.S. military engagement there, Mr. Obama repeated his position that he has not been in violation 11 of the 1973 War Powers Resolution because American operations are "limited in time and scope."

关于利比亚以及与国会就美国在利比亚军事行动的争论，奥巴马重申，他没有违反1973年的战争权力决议案，因为美国的行动“在时间和范围上都是有限的。”

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution that would authorize 12 U.S. participation 13 in NATO-led Libya operations for up to one year. But criticism of the president on Libya continues on Capitol Hill.

星期二，美国参议院外交关系委员会通过了一项决议，授权美国参与北约领导的对利比亚军事行动，时间为一年。但国会仍批评总统在利比亚问题上的做法。

The president responded this way to a question about whether Americans should be prepared for prolonged military operations in Libya and what constitutes success.

在被问到美国是否应该为延长对利比亚的军事行动做好准备以及怎样才算成功时，奥巴马总统这样回答：

"There is no doubt that [Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi stepping down from power is, from the international community's perspective, going to be the primary way that we can assure that the overall mission of Libya's people being protected is accomplished," Mr. Obama said.

“毫无疑问，从国际社会的观点来看，主要就是利比亚领导人卡扎菲下台，这样我们就能确保达成利比亚人民受到保护这一总体任务。”

Mr. Obama noted 14 the International Criminal Court decision ordering Moammar Gadhafi's arrest on war crimes charges, and he pointed 15 to reports of Libyan government troops engaging in "horrible acts," including possibly using rape 16 as a weapon of war.

Mr. Obama was also asked about his position on same-sex marriage, in the wake of the recent vote by the New York state legislature approving a homosexual marriage bill.

鉴于纽约州最近通过了有关同性婚姻合法化的法案，奥巴马还被问及他对同性恋婚姻的立场。

The president, who was to hold a reception later for gay civil rights leaders, said he deplores 17 discrimination based on sexual orientation 18, and that his administration has done more to advance gay rights "than the previous 43 presidents."

要为同性恋民权领袖举行总统招待会的奥巴马说，他反对性取向歧视，他还表示，在推进同性恋权益保障方面，他的政府比之前的43位总统做得都多。