【美国总统电台演说】2006-07-08

 

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I visited the city of Chicago. In that great city, and across America, our strong and growing economy is creating jobs and delivering prosperity to more of our people.

In the Chicago area, businesses have added more than 74,000 new jobs over the past two years. And in Illinois, the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6 percent, the lowest rate there in over 5-and-a-half years.

We have good news about our national economy, as well. On Friday, we learned that the American economy created 121,000 new jobs in June, and it has created over 5.4 million jobs since August 2003. We now have added jobs for 34 straight months, and the unemployment rate is 4.6 percent.

In the first quarter of 2006, our economy grew at an impressive annual rate of 5.6 percent. This follows our economic growth of 3.5 percent in 2005, the fastest rate of any major industrialized nation. And because taxes are low, our workers are keeping more of the money they earn.

Behind each of these positive statistics are countless¹ stories -- stories of workers who start each day with hope because they have a job that will help them build a better life; stories of families with more money in the bank for college tuition, or a down payment on a home; stories of small business owners who know they can hire more workers and grow with confidence.

Our economic expansion is lifting the lives of millions of Americans, and to keep this expansion going, we must maintain the pro-growth, low-tax policies that helped to launch it in the first place. The tax relief we delivered has helped unleash² the entrepreneurial spirit of America and kept our economy the envy of the world. So I will continue to work with Congress to make that tax relief permanent.

Our economy is also thriving because America remains³ the world's most innovative⁴ nation. During my trip to Illinois, I visited a company called Cabot Microelectronics, which makes products for manufacturing semiconductor⁵ chips and other high-tech⁶ components⁸. Cutting-edge firms like Cabot are creating good jobs for our workers and helping⁹ to keep America competitive in the global economy.

To help companies like Cabot maintain our nation's competitive edge, I proposed my American Competitiveness Initiative. This initiative will double federal funding for research in promising¹⁰ areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources. The initiative will also encourage bolder private sector¹¹ investment in technology, and help ensure that every American child has the math and science skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow.

Last month, the House of Representatives approved full funding for the basic research component⁷ of this initiative. I urge the Senate to follow the House's lead, so America can remain an innovative nation that competes with confidence.

Americans are living in times of great hope and great opportunity. By keeping our taxes low, keeping our country competitive, and keeping this a welcoming nation, we will add to our prosperity, and we will create a better America for future generations.

Thank you for listening.

END

1 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

2 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

6 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

8 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。

9 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。

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。