万花筒 2010-01-23&01-25 奥巴马执政一年回顾

"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear."

Confidence, but under no illusion. This was going to be a tough year. Thrust into office, the global recession, his first problem. Stimulus¹ package put the U.S. on the road to recovery. It has to work.

"This is obviously welcome news and affirmation that this recession is abating² and the steps we've taken had made a difference, but I also know that we get long way to go to fully³ restore our economy and recover from what's been the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression."

And did it to a point, saving GM Motors a coup⁴, jobs were created, but the rate of unemployment still not being reversed at 10%. This year, he needs to persuade the public that it would have been far more bleak⁵ without him at the help. Recession brings with it, ill health. For thirty million Americans, this can be difficult to the best of times. Obama promised to bring health insurance to them, but as the months went on and political infighting kept his health bill out of the two Houses, his plan began to crumble⁶.

"You know, we deserve health care. We deserve a better plan. We deserve better than the insurance companies ripping us off night and day."

"Ma'am, you are too old for them to give you any care. Look at his plans!"

"I know."

"Look at his plans."

"You look at his plans! You look at that."

"Socialize health care kill both,both grand,both of my grandparents."

What's more, with mid-term elections just around the corner, you have to use very careful semantics when forcing taxpayers⁷ to pay for it.

(Gunshot)

Afghanistan wasn't just rambling⁸ along, the insurgency⁹ was strengthening. His top commander in the country demanding 40,000 more troops to be sent, or Obama could face failure, a word not synonymous with his personality.

"We are in the offense¹⁰ now, so they are defense¹¹. A lot of our missions are built on the defense. It now altered."

He listened and to the dismay of anti-war protesters and criticism from Republicans, 30,000 more were ordered into Afghanistan. Surge now underway, the next three years, fighting the Taliban could define his presidency¹². A serious mood that was for a war time leader, few would have thought,he be a contender for such a prestigious¹³ award.

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled¹⁴ by the decision of the Nobel Committee."

But shortly after his announcements on troops, Obama was awarded for Nobel Peace Prize. National security rhetoric¹⁵ could change in the White House from the Bush years. His aim to close Guantanamo although it won't happen yet obviously had an effect, not to mention his hard-line stance on torture used by CIA agents.

As Christmas approached, Obama added to his carbon footprint by flying into Copenhagen. His attendance notable showed real intent on cutting global emissions¹⁶, even if a binding¹⁷ agreement didn't follow. He acknowledges more needs to be done.

(Bell rings)

The key for Obama is to strengthen the economy, but only 50% of Americans approving at his performance in the White House so far. He can ill afford to ignore the polls. At certain, Ronald Reagan suffered the same loss of popularity in his first year. Once his economy began to flourish again, his popularity soared. Obama's first challenge, though, is to deal with the defeat in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown. Not only has it damaged his party, it could tip the balance of support for his health bill in the Senate, something he will want to avoid.

 

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

2 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

7 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

8 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

14 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

15 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

16 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

17 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。