VOA标准英语2009年-White House says America on 'Verge' of

One big hurdle¹ remains² before the needed legislation can be signed into law.

Paula Wolfson | Washington 27 December 2009

The White House says the American people are on the "verge³" of health-care reform.  One big hurdle remains before the needed legislation can be signed into law.

This may be the most difficult part of all.

When Congress returns in the new year, negotiators for the House and Senate will begin the tough task of merging⁴ their different versions of health-care reform legislation into one bill the president can sign.

 
AP
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs (file photo)

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is optimistic. "I think the American people are on the verge of a very big win in health care reform early in the next year," he said.

He told the NBC television program Meet the Press that both the Senate and House versions of the bill achieve the main goal set by the president: making health care more affordable⁶ and accessible for all Americans.

"The major parts of health-care reform that the president sought to have enacted⁷ as a candidate are now very close to happening and he thinks the commonality between the two proposals overlaps⁸ quite a bit," said Gibbs.

But they differ on one major point.  Most Americans now pay for health care through private insurance.  The House wants a government-run health care program to compete in the insurance marketplace.   The Senate does not.

Senator Robert Menendez - a New Jersey⁹ Democrat¹⁰ - served for many years in the House and has some advice for his former colleagues.

He spoke⁵ on the Fox News Sunday television program. "I am sure there will be some compromises but at the end of the day, I would expect that it would look very much like the Senate version," said Menendez.

Republicans maintain both versions of the bills are bad.  All the members of the minority party voted against the Senate measure, and only one supported the legislation passed in the House.

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint told Fox News that the fight over health-care reform is far from over.  "And the only think worse than the policy itself has been the process that the Democrats¹¹ have followed to get this passed," he said.

He said special deals were struck with some Democratic Senators to get them to support the bill.

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter - who switched parties from Republican to Democrat earlier this year - says the Democratic Party leadership had no choice.

"I think the process was very bad, but the process was really caused in large measure by the refusal of Republicans to deal in any way," he said.

Specter also appeared on Fox News Sunday.
 

1 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

2 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。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

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。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

5 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。

6 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。

7 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 overlaps   

v.部分重叠( overlap的第三人称单数 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• The style in these two books largely overlaps. 这两本书的文体有许多处是一致的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The new office overlaps the functions of the one already in existence. 新机构的职能与那个现存机构的职能部分重叠。 来自辞典例句

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 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》