VOA标准英语2009年-Democrats Urge Quick Action on US Stimulus Pack

Democrats¹ are calling for speedy passage of an economic stimulus² bill as the U.S. economy continues to shrink and shed jobs. Yet many Republicans say they will not support the legislation, despite efforts by a few moderate Republicans to hammer out some common ground on the roughly $800-billion plan.

The Senate is expected to approve this week its version of the stimulus package aimed at creating or saving three to four million jobs. U.S. President Barack Obama has made it his priority this week to build momentum³ for the plan by arranging a series of campaign-style events in Indiana and Florida.
　
National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers in the East Room of the White House in Washington, 06 Feb 2009

One of the president's chief economic advisers⁴, Lawrence Summers, appearing on the Fox News Sunday program, painted a bleak⁵ picture of the state of the economy.

"We've got to give this economy some help," said Lawrence Summers. "The Senate bill, the House bill, the overlap⁶ is 90-plus percent. We've got to work through the differences, find the best bill we possibly can, and get it in place as quickly as possible to contain what is a very damaging and potentially deflationary spiral."

The biggest differences between the two bills concern tax cuts - the Senate bill has allotted⁷ about $100 billion more for them - and aid to state governments.

But Republican support for either version remains⁸ scant⁹. Republicans are advocating a much smaller stimulus package that focuses mostly on tax cuts and spending on infrastructure¹⁰.
　
US Sen. John McCain, (file photo)

Republican Senator John McCain, a former presidential candidate, told CBS' Face the Nation he will not support the bill.

"I think this can only be described as generational theft." said John McCain. "We're going to have, already, $1.2 - trillion deficits¹², by estimates, and it's just begun. We're going to amass¹³ the largest debt in the history of this country by any measurement, and we're going to ask our kids and grandkids to pay for it."

McCain says the measures being taken are much larger than those taken during the Great Depression. But Summers, in another appearance on ABC's This Week, sharply disputed these historical comparisons.

"Those who presided over the last eight years, the eight years that brought us to the point where we inherited trillions [of] dollars of deficit¹¹, an economy that is collapsing¹⁴ more rapidly than in any time in the last 50 years, don't seem to be in a strong position to lecture about the lessons of history," he said. "We need an approach that is very different than the approach we had that brought us to this point."

Summers says that is precisely¹⁵ what the president's stimulus package is providing. He says the Department of Labor's report Friday that 600,000 jobs were lost in January alone is proof that fast action is needed.

1 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》

2 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。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

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 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

7 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

8 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。

9 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

12 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

13 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

14 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。