Obama's approval rating surges

 　　WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is seeing a surge in support among voters, with poll numbers released Tuesday suggesting his approval rating is nearing the 50 percent mark.

　　According to a national survey done by CNN/ORC International Poll, 49 percent of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing in the White House, up five points from last month, with 48 percent saying they disapprove¹, down six points from mid-November. The 49 percent approval rating is Obama's highest since May, when his number hit 54 percent after the killing² of Osama bin³ Laden⁴.

　　The rise of the president's popularity is in part attributed to the partisan⁵ battle over extending the payroll⁶ tax cut.

　　"President Barack Obama's approval rating appears to be fueled by dramatic gains among middle-income Americans," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "The data suggest that the debate over the payroll tax is helping⁷ Obama's efforts to portray⁸ himself as the defender⁹ of the middle class."

　　The two parties have been fighting a bitter war over extending the popular tax cuts. After Senate approval of a long-awaited measure to extend the payroll tax cuts and federal jobless benefits for two months, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday scuttled¹⁰ it.

　　Obama, in a surprise visit to the White House press briefing room after the House vote, urged House Republicans to vote on the short-term Senate bill and avoid a tax hike for 160 million American workers at the start of next year.

　　The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from Dec. 16 to Dec. 18, with 1,015 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

1 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• 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。

6 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

9 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

10 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》