US Vice President Urges Congress to Back Jobs Bill

 　　U.S. Vice¹ President Joe Biden says the White House will keep acting² on its own if congressional Republicans fail to pass the Democratic administration’s jobs bill.  Republicans are offering their own proposals.

　　Filling in for President Barack Obama to deliver the weekly media address, the vice president said difficult times call for urgent measures. “We have to act now to do everything in our power to keep this economy moving and to grow jobs," he said.

　　Vice President Biden said President Obama had already used his executive powers to reduce student loan payments, and help veterans find jobs and homeowners refinance their mortgages.

　　He also said the president spent time at the recent Group of 20 summit in France trying to keep the delicate economic recovery from being derailed, as European economies also deal with growing debts.

　　“He urged our European friends to step up and stabilize³ their own economies. Because if they fail, it will affect the whole world," he said.

　　In the Republican address, Senator Scott Brown, from the northeastern state of Massachusetts, said Republicans are offering their own solutions.

　　A bill he introduced earlier this year to repeal⁴ a new tax on government contracts was recently adopted by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives but has yet to be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

　　Senator Brown is urging immediate⁵ congressional action to show both parties can agree on ways to boost job creation. “One breakthrough has a way of leading to other breakthroughs. One show of goodwill⁶ has a way of spreading goodwill.  This jobs bill if we move it forward, it can be followed by many more than can do even greater good," he said.

　　The opposing views come as congressional Republicans have repeatedly voted down the measures in President Obama’s stimulus⁷ spending jobs bill, known as the American Jobs Act, which he first proposed in September.

　　The U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly in October to 9 percent.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。