Obama "confident" to pass climate bill this year

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama met with a bipartisan（代表两党的） group of senators Tuesday in the White House on climate and clean energy bill, and said he's confident they can " get something done this year."Urging the Senate to pass energy and climate legislation this year, Obama used the hour-and-a-half meeting to tell the senators that he believes the best way to transition to a clean energy economy is with a bill that "makes clean energy the profitable（有益的） kind of energy."According to the White House, not all of the senators agreed with this approach. Obama welcomed other approaches and ideas, and said there was "strong foundation and consensus¹" on some key policies. He met with a group of senators led by majority leader Harry² Reid and Republican Lamar Alexander.
Urging the senators to come together based on that foundation, Obama said there was agreement on the sense of urgency required to move forward with legislation.
The energy and climate bill is a big item on the domestic as well as economic agenda for Obama. A comprehensive energy and climate bill passed the House of Representatives last year, but the Senate version has yet to be passed, and commentators³ doubt that it will ever get passed this year, as many lawmakers face battles during the mid-term elections in November.
However, the issue is reignited by the oil spill in the Gulf⁴ of Mexico, and Obama used his first Oval Office address to the nation earlier this month to advocate for the issue. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。