时间:2018-12-19 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2011年4月


英语课

  Sometime during the next several weeks, the U.S. Congress will take up the issue of raising the nation's debt ceiling so that the United States can continue to borrow money to cover a national debt that will soon soar past $14 trillion. The debate over raising the debt ceiling comes amid a highly polarized political atmosphere here in Washington.

在今后几个星期的某一时刻,国会将要讨论提高美国国债上限的问题,因为只有提高国债上限,美国才能继续借钱来偿付所欠债务。美国国债将很快达到14万亿美元。有关提高美国国债上限的争论将在华盛顿一个两极分化非常严重的政治氛围中进行。

The debt ceiling vote will be a high-stakes political showdown with national and international implications.

国会就提高国债上限的表决将是一场严峻的政治对决,对美国乃至整个世界都会产生影响。

U.S. Treasury 1 Secretary Timothy Geithner says that failing to raise the debt limit would lead to the United States defaulting on its loans, and he says that would be catastrophic.

财政部长盖特纳说,不提高国债上限将会导致美国不能按时偿还债务,而这将是灾难性的。

Senate Budget Committee Chairman, Democrat 2 Kent Conrad, spoke 3 on the "Fox News Sunday" television program.

参议院预算委员会主席、民主党人肯特.康拉德在“福克斯新闻星期天”电视节目中说:

"This is a defining moment and we have got to decide as a nation," said Conrad. "Are we going to do some things that all of us would prefer not to have to do or do we wait for the roof to cave in?"

“这是一个决定性时刻,作为一个国家我们必须做出决定。我们要不要做一些我们所有人都不情愿做的事,还是等到房顶塌下来才采取行动。”

Many Republicans oppose raising the debt ceiling, arguing that it is time to force the United States to stop what they see as a cycle of excessive spending and borrowing. They say that any effort to increase the debt limit must be linked to deeper budget cuts.

很多共和党人反对提高债务上限,他们说,现在是强迫美国停止他们所认为的无度开支和借贷的恶性循环的时候了。共和党人坚持,任何提高国债上限的措施都必须以更大幅度削减预算为前提。

Several of these Republicans won the support of Tea Party activists 4 in last year's midterm congressional elections, and the Tea Party supporters are demanding that the lawmakers keep their word to cut the size of government or face their wrath 5 in the next election.

这些共和党人当中有一些在去年国会中期选举中得到了茶党的支持,而茶党的支持者要求这些共和党议员信守竞选承诺,削减政府规模,否则将在下次竞选中面临惩罚。

Political analysts 6 say all of this has led to a hyperpartisan political environment in Washington, one that former Senator Bob Bennett says he knows all too well.

政治分析人士指出,所有这一切导致了华盛顿的超浓厚党派政治氛围。前参议员鲍勃.贝内特表示,他对这一切都非常熟悉。

"Well right now, if you look at it superficially, the town is really messed up," Bennett. "And we are headed towards the question of whether or not we honor our obligations and pay our bills, or refuse to ideologically 8 because that is the real impact of the vote on raising the debt ceiling."

他说:“目前从表面上看,华盛顿的局面是一团糟。我们面临的问题是要不要履行我们的义务去偿还债务,还是向意识形态低头,因为是否提高国债上限对将来的选举有实质性影响。”

Bennett is a Republican who was defeated in his bid for a fourth term at a party convention in his home state of Utah last year by more conservative opponents.

贝内特去年竞选第四次连任的时候,在家乡犹他州举行的党内初选中被更加保守的竞选对手击败。

The partisan 7 atmosphere that pervades 9 Washington could make it difficult for Republicans and Democrats 10 to reach a compromise - not only on raising the debt ceiling, but also in finding common ground on the federal budget for next year.

华盛顿浓厚的党派氛围将使共和党和民主党很难达成妥协,不仅是提高国债上限,还包括在批准明年联邦政府预算方面找到共同点。

Mickey Edwards is a former Republican Representative from Oklahoma and a veteran of numerous partisan battles in Washington. He retired 11 from Congress after the 1992 elections and has spent several years in academia, including his current position at the Aspen Institute here in Washington.

米奇.爱德华兹是前俄克拉荷马州共和党众议员,曾参与了华盛顿的多次党派争斗。1992年选举后,他离任进入学术界,前往华盛顿阿斯本研究所任职。

"Party dominance now, party victories in the next election are so important that you have the two parties at war with each other all the time," said Edwards. "The campaign just goes on and on, so it is always warfare 12. And we are paying the price because if you are the enemy, I have to defeat you for me to be able to get anywhere. It is really hard to sit down and compromise."

爱德华兹说:“一个党现在占主导地位,在下次选举中取得胜利非常重要,结果两个党总是处于交战状态。选战没完没了,两个党总是在较量。我们为此付出代价,因为如果你是我的政敌,我必须要战胜你,我才能干我想干的事。所以要想坐下来达成妥协的确很难。”

At the heart of the debate over government spending is a deep divide over how the two major parties view the proper role of the central government.

在政府开支问题上,两大政党分歧最深的是如何看待中央政府所应扮演的角色。

President Barack Obama and most of his fellow Democrats in Congress see the federal government as providing an essential safety net for the poor, the sick and the elderly.

奥巴马总统和大多数国会民主党人把联邦政府看作是低收入者、病患和老年人的安全网。

Republicans, fueled by the Tea Party movement, see the central government as too big and inefficient 13, and a hindrance 14 to economic growth that would benefit all Americans.

受到茶党运动影响的共和党人则认为联邦政府过于臃肿、缺乏效率、阻碍经济增长。

Despite the highly partisan political environment and his own defeat last year, former Senator Bennett says he is hopeful that both sides will come to an agreement on raising the debt limit.

尽管党派政治氛围浓重、而且他本人去年竞选失利,但前参议员贝内特仍然表示对两党能够对提高国债上限达成一致抱有希望。

"Campaigning is a lot easier than governing," added Bennett. "Campaigning leads you into the area of slogans rather than solutions. And I think many of these folks are turning out to be more serious than we may have thought. So I'm an optimist 15 that we will raise the debt ceiling and that we will not default on our debts."

他说:“竞选比执政容易得多。竞选要你去喊口号,而不是拿出方案。我觉得,很多议员实际上比我们所想象的要严肃得多。所以,我对我们能够提高国债上限而不是停止偿还感到乐观。”

Bennett's optimism seems out of sync with recent public opinion surveys that show about 70 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and nearly two-thirds believe the nation is in decline.

然而贝内特的乐观情绪似乎与最近的民调结果大相径庭。民调显示,大约70%的美国人认为美国正走在错误的道路上,而且有将近三分之二的美国人认为美国正在没落。

Members of Congress return to Washington next week after a two-week break. During that time, many lawmakers will have held town meetings with voters and heard a lot about the debt ceiling, the budget and cutting government spending.

国会议员们休会两个星期后,即将重返华盛顿。很多议员将和选民举行座谈会,听取有关提高国债上限、预算和缩减政府预算的意见。



1 treasury
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。
2 democrat
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。
3 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 activists
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 wrath
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
6 analysts
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
  • City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
  • I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
7 partisan
adj.党派性的;游击队的;n.游击队员;党徒
  • In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中,他们忘掉一切党派之争。
  • The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。
8 ideologically
adv. 意识形态上地,思想上地
  • Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上,他们之间有许多不同之处。
  • He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。
9 pervades
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 )
  • An unpleasant smell pervades the house. 一种难闻的气味弥漫了全屋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • An atmosphere of pessimism pervades the economy. 悲观的气氛笼罩着整个经济。 来自辞典例句
10 democrats
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 retired
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
12 warfare
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突
  • He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
  • Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
13 inefficient
adj.效率低的,无效的
  • The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
  • Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。
14 hindrance
n.妨碍,障碍
  • Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
  • The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。
15 optimist
n.乐观的人,乐观主义者
  • We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者,又是现实主义者。
  • Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说,事情必定是会好转的。
学英语单词
Aconitum alboviolaceum
activity list slot
adakites
analytic, analytical
apograph
apparent stresses
architectural esthetics
artistically
astronavigations
atarba (atarbodes) issikiana
autographs (musical autographs)
band and gudgeon
base snow
behavio(u)ral polymorphism
black woodpecker
Brovst
cargo heater
cattle farmer
cbrf
ceyle
closed line breeding
collision kernel
com-plained
come into disfavour
composite efficiency
condition of carriage
docosadienoic
dog warden
dormant accounts
dorsey
dress length
economic pressure drop
friels
gesture-based
happenstantial
hepadnaviruses
hmd
hudha
icosahedral ssDNA
in what way
Inverurie
ivpp
kappamaki
kirbyville
Klein-Gordon equation
legcoes
limit screw pitch gauge
lithotriptoscope
lost the way
Lowi's sign
marine attaching organism
math book
medical scintillation spectrometer
Millais
millimetric wave magnetron
Miyashiroite
multicore cathode
Neustadt an der Aisch
non-commutative Markov process
non-obligatory
Nozzle Pocket Brick
number of input shaft
pakistans
palingman
percentage uncertainty
peu a peu
phase-comparison circuit
pin one's hopes on
plughole
Portugual
posterior nasal spine
queer up
reel basket
reliability of static system
reserve for general contingencies
selfconductance
separation mechanism
setting ditch
shear-tail
short-term film
size of refrigerator
sphenochoanal polypus
subacetates
submaxillaries
subsystem abort
sulphides
toeprinting
tomislavgrads
two-word instruction
type b behavior
Uberaba, L.
unified design
up down
vesicular exanthema of swine
vitreous materials
Vladimira, Zaliv
wedge angle
whalin
windberg
yesod
zero pour