Obama Touts US Economic Gains

 　　President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to advance his plan to increase U.S. exports, after a week of upbeat news about the nation’s economy.  The president spoke¹ Friday, at the end of a three-day fundraising trip to the Western United States.

　　President Obama spoke to workers in the gigantic Boeing airplane assembly plant near the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington.  He emerged from one of the newly-built Boeing jetliners being sold to overseas airlines, to promote his goal to boost exports.

　　“The Dreamliner is the plane of the future.  And by building it here, Boeing is taking advantage of a huge opportunity that exists right now to bring more jobs and manufacturing back to the United States of America,” he said.

　　Mr. Obama said the U.S. is ahead of schedule toward meeting the goal he set three years ago of doubling American exports by 2014.

　　To speed that progress, he called on lawmakers to pass his plan to reform the nation’s tax code, ending tax breaks for businesses that move jobs overseas and rewarding companies that create jobs in the U.S.

　　The president also urged Congress to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, the government’s export credit agency.  He said the bank is starting a program to help subsidize small U.S. businesses’ efforts to increase their exports.

　　He mentioned the bank’s role in helping² Boeing sell 230 planes to the Indonesian airline Lion Air last year, a deal worth more than $22 billion.  It was the company’s biggest order ever.

　　Mr. Obama spoke as his annual economic report was being delivered to Congress.  The report says the economy has been expanding for two-and-a-half years, but not quickly enough to recover the jobs lost in the recession that began in 2007.

　　Nonetheless, the president told workers at Boeing there are encouraging signs that the economic recovery is accelerating.

　　“The tide is beginning to turn our way," he said.  "Over the last 23 months, businesses have created 3.7 million new jobs.  And American manufacturers are hiring for the first time since 1990.  And the American auto³ industry is back.  And our economy is getting stronger.”

　　The president’s remarks followed a week of positive economic news.  On Friday, Congress passed a one-year extension of the nation’s payroll⁴ tax cut.  Mr. Obama said lawmakers did the right thing.

　　“Congress also agreed to extend unemployment insurance for millions of Americans-maybe some of your family members - who are still out there looking for a job," he said.  "So I am going to sign this bill right away when I get back home.”

　　Also this week, the Labor⁵ Department said the number of Americans signing up for unemployment assistance has fallen to a four-year low.

　　And General Motors announced that its 2011 profit reached a record $7.6 billion, just two years after bankruptcy⁶ and a government bailout.

　　The president’s appearance at Boeing concluded a three-day trip to the West Coast, much of which was spent at fundraising events for his re-election campaign.

1 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

参考例句：

• 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。

2 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。

3 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

4 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。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。