VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Hopes to Regain Health Care Momentum

U.S. President Barack Obama will attempt to regain¹ political momentum² when he delivers a major address on health care reform to a joint³ session of Congress on Wednesday.

It may be the most important speech so far in Mr. Obama's young presidency⁴. The political stakes for the president and for congressional Democrats⁵ are enormous.
　
Residents hold signs in support of Health Care reform as LaRouche Pol. Action Committee members hold signs depicting⁶ Pres. Obama as Hitler, Mass., 02 Sep 2009

The president will attempt to regain the initiative in the battle for health care reform after losing ground last month in public opinion polls and in some angry town hall forums⁷ where his plan was heavily criticized.

"Many may believe that we can't afford to do anything," said presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs. "I think this president believes we can't afford not to."

Hopes for a bipartisan compromise on health care appear to be fading. Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming is one of a handful of Republicans who has been discussing a bipartisan approach on health care.

But Enzi adopted a negative tone when he gave the Republican response to one of President Obama's recent weekly radio addresses.

"This is big. This is personal. This is one of the most important debates of our lifetime," he said. "If Congress and the administration mess this up each and every one of us will pay for the mistakes, as will generations to come. We need health care reform. But more importantly, we need to get it right,"he said.

Like most members of Congress, Enzi heard from constituents⁸ at town hall meetings during the August congressional recess⁹ about the health care issue, and he says many of the comments were negative.

Several Democrats have said their town hall meetings were not as raucous¹⁰, and they insist reform supporters remain adamant¹¹ that Congress should approve changes to the U.S. health care system.

Some liberal Democrats worry that the president may ask them to give up too much in the health care debate in the hope of salvaging¹² some sort of political compromise by the end of the year.
　
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says many Democrats remain committed to a sweeping¹³ reform plan that would expand health insurance coverage¹⁴ to millions of Americans who currently do not have it.

"We have a moral imperative¹⁵ to do this. We are the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the world, the great economic leader of the developed world, but the only one that does have access to quality, affordable¹⁶ health care for our people, and we intend to do so," she said.

Republicans and many conservative Democrats are balking¹⁷ on the cost of the reform, which could reach one trillion dollars over the next several years.

Political analysts¹⁸ say Mr. Obama has little choice but to try and restart the debate over health care since his poll ratings have gone down in recent months, both personally and in terms of his handling of the health care issue.

"You do see a lot more worry in the public opinion polls," said John Fortier, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "And the polls differ on how questions are asked, but certainly all the polls have moved to much more skepticism about the cost and about worries about the government role," he said.

A major point of difference between the two main parties is whether the government should offer a health insurance program to compete with private insurance companies in an effort to drive down health care costs.

Republicans argue a government plan, also known as the public option, would undermine the private insurance industry.

Liberal Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi, insist that a public option must be part of any bill eventually passed by Congress.

The president's address will come shortly after Congress reconvenes after its long August recess. Several congressional committees are working on reform proposals, but so far no one plan has emerged for consideration.

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 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。

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 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

7 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

8 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

10 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

11 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

12 salvaging   

（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的现在分词 )； 回收利用（某物）

参考例句：

• A shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 某轮船公司要求赔赏打捞沉船的费用。（make a claim 要求）
• It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 航运公司为打捞沉船的费用而提出要求，这并非奇闻。

13 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

14 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

16 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。

17 balking   

n.慢行，阻行v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的现在分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He picked up a stone and let fly at the balking dog. 他捡起一块石头朝那狂吠的狗扔去。 来自互联网
• Democrats won't pass the plan without votes from rank-and-file Republicans andof-and-file Republicans were reportedly balking. 没有普通共和党议员的支持，民主党人无法通过这项方案——到周四晚间，据悉那些普通共和党人在阻挡（该计划）。 来自互联网

18 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。