VOA慢速英语2014 President Obama Takes State of the Union Speech to Public

 

President Obama Takes State of the Union Speech to Public

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

President Obama traveled for two days after giving his State of the Union speech to Congress and the nation earlier this week. He visited four states to support policy plans he proposed in his yearly message. 

The traditional road trip after a State of the Union speech first took the president to a community in Maryland.  He spoke¹ to workers at a Costco store.  He told them “nobody who works full-time² should ever have to raise a family in poverty.”

In his message to Congress, one of Mr. Obama’s major points was that he would reduce the increasing differences in income between America’s rich and poor.  Other major issues included jobs and immigration.

The president said he will continue to reach out to Congress to work on long-term issues. But he said he also plans to use executive orders, or presidential powers, to press for his goals.

These include his plans to raise the minimum wage.  It would require federal contractors³ to pay their federally-financed employees what he called a fair wage. He said that amount would be at least ten dollars and ten cents an hour.  The current federal minimum wage is seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour. 

If job creation and other improvements continue, Mr. Obama said 2014 could be a year of good progress.  But he criticized Republican protests against his health care law, the Affordable⁴ Care Act.  The law is more commonly known as Obamacare.  He urged Republicans in Congress not to vote again to cancel it. 

“The question for folks in Washington is whether they are going to help that progress or hinder that progress, whether they are going to waste time in creating new crises for people and new uncertainty⁵ like the shutdown. Or are we going to spend time creating new jobs and new opportunities?”

The shutdown took place last October. It involved a temporary suspension of government services.  It took place because lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill in the required time. 

Mr. Obama noted⁶ improvements in the economy, including lower unemployment and increased manufacturing.  The jobless rate is now at 6.7 percent, a five-year low.  Mister Obama said the drop results in part from an increase in manufacturing jobs.  But, the president said it is not enough that more people are working.

The president also told the nation about plans to help people who are in the country illegally become citizens.  He urged Congress to approve an immigration reform measure that passed the Senate last year.  But intense opposition⁷ from conservatives has tied up the bill in the House of Representatives.

After the speech, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers gave the Republican Party response.  She suggested a different way of balancing the difference in income between rich and poor.  She suggested less government.

“We hope the president will join us in a year of real action – by empowering people -not making their lives harder with unprecedented⁸ spending, higher taxes and fewer jobs.”

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell criticized the idea of Mr. Obama using executive orders to gain his goals.

 

From VOA Learning English, that’s In the News. I’m Steve Ember.

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 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

3 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。