2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Looks to Seize Political Initiative i

By Jim Malone
Washington
30 January 2006

President Bush  
  
President Bush has an opportunity to seize the political spotlight¹ Tuesday when he delivers the annual State of the Union address to Congress and the American people.

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The inspiration for the State of the Union address comes from the U.S. Constitution, which says the president shall, from time to time, report to Congress on the State of the Union.

Throughout much of U.S. history that has taken the form of a written message from the president to Congress. But the address has taken on a life of its own in the modern media age with a prime-time television audience watching at home.

Most political analysts³ now see the address as an opportunity for the president to build support for his foreign and domestic policy initiatives and to frame the political debate for the year ahead, which happens to be a congressional election year.

Republicans hope Mr. Bush will use this year's speech to begin a political rebound⁴ after a difficult 2005 during which the president's public approval ratings fell to new lows over Iraq, domestic energy prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

"I am going to continue to talk about an optimistic agenda that will remind folks that we have a responsibility to lead," said Mr. Bush.

Democrats⁵ will offer a brief rebuttal to the president's speech. Virginia's new Democratic governor, Tim Kaine, will make his debut⁶ as a spokesman for the opposition⁷ party.

"We need to hear honesty, humility⁸ from the Commander in Chief, not swagger from the campaigner in chief," said the Senate Democratic leader, Harry⁹ Reid of Nevada.

In addition to outlining his domestic and foreign policy agenda for the year ahead, Mr. Bush is also expected to make an impassioned defense¹⁰ of his leadership in the war on terror and to remind Americans of the importance of staying the course in Iraq.

University of Virginia political analyst² Larry Sabato says Iraq will remain a defining issue for the American public this year much as it did in 2005.

"I think most Americans, in signing on for this venture [Iraq], which they did somewhat hesitantly, they assumed that it would be short-term event and of course, already it has turned into two years," he said. "The projections¹¹ are that it will go many years in the future, at least to a certain degree. Inevitably¹² in 2006 the president will have to reduce the troop levels. Either that or Republicans will suffer greatly in the midterm elections."

The November congressional elections are expected to drive much of the political debate this year with Democrats hoping to take advantage of a historical trend that opposition parties usually make gains in the House and Senate in the sixth year of a two-term presidency¹³.

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says the Democrats hope to take advantage of public unease over Iraq and a growing corruption¹⁴ scandal involving a once influential¹⁵ Republican lobbyist, Jack¹⁶ Abramoff.

"So while there has been some criticism that the Democrats do not have a detailed¹⁷ plan, they do not really need one and they are not rushing to one," said Rothenberg. "They do not have one. Basically, the Democratic argument is that things are not going well, give us a chance."

Experts also note that the political leverage¹⁸ of presidents tends to weaken toward the end of their second terms as both parties prepare for the next presidential election, in this case in 2008.

"Traditionally, historically, a president re-elected has, maybe at the outside, two years of a second term to really be seen as still the undisputed leader of the country politically," commented Patrick Basham, who monitors the U.S. political scene for the Cato Institute in Washington. "After two years, his power begins to fade away quite quickly and quite considerably¹⁹ and I think this president recognizes that."

For all the attention paid to State of the Union addresses, historians note that the public often pays relatively²⁰ little attention. In fact, a ranking of the top 100 American speeches in the 20th century includes just one State of the Union speech, the one given by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

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 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

10 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。

11 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

12 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

13 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。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

16 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

17 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

18 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

19 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

20 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。