奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统回顾取得的成就

Hi everybody. Seven years ago, the American auto¹ industry was on the brink² of collapse³. Plants were closing. Hundreds of thousands of workers were getting laid off from jobs that had been their ticket to a middle-class life. And as the pain spread across the country, another one million Americans would have lost their jobs in the middle of the worst economic crisis⁴ of our lifetimes.
大家好。七年前，美国的汽车产业面临崩溃。工厂倒闭，成千上万的工人失去工作，同时也失去了跻身中产阶级的门票。随着这种趋势蔓延下去，我们遭遇了此生最严重的经济危机，100多万人失去了工作。
Some said it was too late to turn things around. But I refused to turn my back on so many of the workers that I'd met. Instead, I placed my bet on American workers. I placed my bet on American manufacturing. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We said the auto industry would have to truly change, not just pretend that it did. We got labor⁵ and management to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool⁶ and restructure. Everyone had some skin in the game.
有人说，太晚了，局势无法扭转了。但我亲眼见过这些工人，我拒绝放弃他们。相反，我选择与美国的工人们同舟共济。我选择与美国的制造业同舟共济。为了得到帮助，我们需要负起责任。我们说过，汽车产业需要进行真正的变革，而不是做做假把式。我们让职工与管理层进行对话，解决分歧。我们对整个行业进行升级改造。每个人都是这场运动中的一分子。
Our plan wasn't popular. Critics said it was a “road to socialism,” or a “disaster” waiting to happen. But I'd make that bet again any day of the week. Because today, the American auto industry is back. Since our plan went into effect, our automakers have added more than 640,000 new jobs. We've cut the Detroit-area unemployment rate by more than half. The Big Three automakers are raising wages. Seven years ago, auto sales hit a 27-year low. Last year, they hit an all-time high.
我们的计划一开始并不受欢迎。批评人士说，这是“社会主义道路”，或是迟早要发生的“灾难”。但我每一周、每一天我都下定决心要坚持下去。因为今天，美国的汽车产业又回归了。当我们的政策产生效果之后，汽车生产商共增加了64万个工作岗位。我们将底特律地区的失业率降低了一半以上。三大汽车生产商也纷纷提高工资标准。七年前，汽车销量创下27年的最低值，而去年，他们却创下有史以来的新高。
Later this month, I'll visit the Detroit Auto Show to see this progress firsthand. Because I believe that every American should be proud of what our most iconic industry has done.
这个月末，我会参加底特律车展，以第一视角看看我们取得的成绩。因为我相信，每个美国人都应该为美国的标志性行业的取得的成就而感到自豪。
It's not unlike what America overall has done these past seven years. Our businesses are now on a 70-month streak⁷ of job creation⁸, with more than 14 million new jobs in all. We've revamped our schools and the way we pay for college. We've made historic⁹ investments in clean energy and put ourselves on a path to a low-carbon future. We've brought more than 17 million Americans into our health care system, seen health care prices grow at the lowest rate in fifty years, and covered more than 90 percent of our people for the very first time. We've even cut our deficits¹⁰ by nearly 75 percent in the process.
回顾美国各行各业在过去七年里所做的事情，不能不让人惊叹。我们的企业创下连续79个月就业增长的记录，共新增1400多万个就业岗位。我们对学校进行改革，改变了大学学费的支付方式。我们对新能源领域进行了历史性的投资，低碳走向未来。我们让1700多万美国人民加入医保体系，看到医保价格增长速度降到50年来的最低水平，而且首次让90%以上的人都得到保障。与此同时，我们将财政赤字削减了将近75%。
The point is America can do anything. Even in times of great challenge and change, our future is entirely¹¹ up to us. That's been on my mind while I'm writing my final State of the Union Address. And on Tuesday, I'm going to talk about the choices we have to make to set this country firmly on an even better, brighter course for decades to come.
关键点是，美国能够做好任何事情。即便面临巨大的挑战和变革，我们的未来依然完全掌握在我们自己手中。在我准备我最后一次国情咨文演讲的过程中，这个概念一直浮现在我的脑海中。下周二，我会谈谈我们需要做出的选择，为了赢得更美好、更光明的未来我们要为这个国家打下坚实的基础。
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
谢谢大家。祝周末愉快！
 

1 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。

2 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

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 retool   

v.改组，重新装备

参考例句：

• Each time the product changes,the machines have to be retooled.每次更换产品，就得重新装备机器。
• In the computer industry,engineers have to retool frequently.在电脑业中，工程师必须经常以新知识充实装备自己。

7 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

8 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

9 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

10 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。