U.S. fiscal deficit issue is manageable

     NEW YORK, April 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury¹ Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Tuesday that the current U.S. fiscal² deficit³（国库赤字） problems were manageable and bipartisan efforts were required to address the challenge.

    "(The fiscal deficit is) much bigger challenge than anything we faced as a government in the last several decades on the budget side," the treasury chief said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, "but it is a manageable challenge for the U.S.."The comment referred to the current fiscal deficit problems that the U.S. government was facing. In a letter on April 4, Geithner told Senate Majority Leader Harry⁴ Reid that the U.S. would reach the debt limit of 14.3 trillion by May 16.

    "There is no alternative," said Geithner, stressing that bipartisan efforts were required to address the challenge that both democrats⁵ and republicans needed to understand the importance of bringing down the deficit.

    "Our objective is to take advantage of this to build bipartisan consensus," the treasury secretary voiced confidence at the collaboration⁶ of the two parties, saying "we have a chance to do that now because there is broad agreement among both republicans and democrats."Geithner said the two parties have reached agreements "on the scale of deficit reduction that need to commit to achieve," and "substantially agreements" on some of the components⁷ of that.

    Besides fiscal deficit problems, Geithner also pointed⁸ out that economic growth and financial repair and reform were the other two major challenges that the U.S. was facing right now.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• 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 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• 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。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 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。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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》

6 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

7 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。