美国人就预算危机力陈己见

　　WASHINGTON — In the past three years, Americans have endured three threatened government shutdowns, two legislative¹ brawls² over raising the debt limit, and another fight over automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. Fiscal³ drama has become the norm in Washington, but Americans are of many different minds on the lurch⁴ to crisis governance.

　　Far removed from the formality of Washington, Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles is distant geographically⁵ and culturally from the nation’s capital. Tony, a tattoo⁶ artist, said he refuses to lose sleep over yet another episode of dysfunction in Washington.

　　"I can't do anything about it, so I'm not going to stress over something I can't change. So I just take care of myself and my family, and that's all I can do," he said.

　　Others hope for yet another last-minute deal to avert⁷ a government shutdown.

　　“They're not going to let it go. This is America. They have to do something,” said Gregg Donovan, a Hollywood greeter.

　　“I mean, the Republicans are nuts,” said Perry Mann, a street actor.

　　Some blame Republicans for near-constant fiscal drama.

　　“They're wasting their time and they're threatening to shut down the government. I mean, they don't care about anybody but themselves,” said Mann.

　　Others blame President Barack Obama and his signature health care law.

　　“I support defunding Obamacare. I think Obamacare is a disaster. When they say government shutdown, it doesn't mean that everything is going to stop,” said Larry Green, a tour industry worker.

　　And some prefer not to follow the news in Washington.

　　"Not as much as I should, I admit, and I probably represent quite a few people. But about the budget impasse⁸, I think it happened so many times before,” said Julie Mammano, a children's author.

　　With fiscal showdowns common, some Americans may shrug⁹ at Washington’s current impasse. But that will change if the federal government closes on October 1, according to analyst¹⁰ Stan Collender.

　　“This will start to have an impact on people’s thinking when it has an impact on their lives - not when they are hearing about the possibility on the news, but when they call the Department of Education and no one is there to answer the phone. Or when they need a visa or a passport and no one is there to process it," said Collender.

　　Collender thinks this time a shutdown is more likely than not, and that Americans are suffering from what he calls “crisis fatigue¹¹.”

　　No one should underestimate consequences of a shutdown, according to Democratic Senator Charles Schumer. “I think the American people get very aware when the stock market goes down 2,000 points.”

　　In New York, some urge consequences for members of Congress. "I think they should all be fired,” said Linda, a visitor to New York.

　　From New York to Los Angeles, Americans could do just that in next year’s congressional elections.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 brawls   

吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Whatever brawls disturb the street, there should be peace at home. 街上无论多么喧闹，家中应有宁静。
• I got into brawls in the country saloons near my farm. 我在离我农场不远的乡下沙龙里和别人大吵大闹。

3 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。

4 lurch   

n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行

参考例句：

• It has been suggested that the ground movements were a form of lurch movements.地震的地面运动曾被认为是一种突然倾斜的运动形式。
• He walked with a lurch.他步履蹒跚。

5 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

6 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

9 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。