VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Urges Democrats To Keep Fighting

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010.

U.S. President Barack Obama is urging his Democratic Party to continue fighting for its causes, despite a hostile political climate.  Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative² tone.
 
The high U.S. unemployment rate, a resurgent Republican opposition³ and President Obama's shrinking approval ratings are making Democrats⁴ nervous as they face the November elections for Congress and governors.

In this climate of unease, Mr. Obama addressed the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting near the White House, and reassured⁵ the party faithful that he will continue the fight.

The president said Democrats can point to numerous accomplishments⁶ in this year's campaign.

He said his administration has calmed a troubled economy, made progress on many domestic issues, and strengthened America's standing⁷ in the world. "We are working with our partners to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to seek a world free of nuclear weapons.  We banned torture.  We have begun to leave Iraq to its own people.  We charted a new way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and made good progress in taking the fight to al-Qaeda across the globe," he said.

Mr. Obama said much of this has been accomplished⁸ with no cooperation from Republicans.

In Saturday's Republican Party radio and Internet address, Texas Congressman⁹ Jeb Hensarling says Mr. Obama's domestic programs cost too much. "So, you pile up all this Democrat¹ spending, all their borrowing, all their debt, you add it to their government takeover of health care, their 'cap and trade' national energy tax and their continued bailouts. Is it little wonder that job growth is lagging in our economy?"

The president says he is not surprised that Americans are angry that the jobless rate remains¹⁰ high, and that this has hurt his approval rating, which stands at about 50 percent. "When unemployment is 9.7 percent, when we are still digging ourselves out of an extraordinary recession, people are going to be frustrated¹¹, and they are going to be looking to the party in power to try to fix it.  When you have got another party that says, 'We do not want to do anything about it,' of course people are going to be frustrated," he said.

But the president reminded an enthusiastic crowd of Democrats that solving long-entrenched problems is a difficult process. "That is why I ran for president.  That is why you worked so hard to elect a Democratic Congress. We knew this stuff was tough.  But we stepped up because we decided¹² we were going to take the responsibility of changing it.  And it may not be easy, but change is coming," he said.

After criticism from Republicans and some Democrats that he was concentrating too much on health care reform and not enough on the economy, Mr. Obama has devoted¹³ many of his recent public statements to economic issues.

However, the president told the Democrats Saturday he is still committed to overhauling¹⁴ the U.S. health care system, which has been a centerpiece of his domestic agenda. "Just in case there is any confusion out there, let me be clear:  I am not going to walk away from health insurance reform.  I am not going to walk away from the American people.  I am not going to walk away on this challenge.  I am not going to walk away from any challenge.  We are moving forward," he said.

The Democrats met just three blocks from the White House, but with half a meter of snow on the ground from a winter storm, the trip became dangerous.  In the president's motorcade, a vehicle carrying photographers collided with an ambulance as it traveled to the event, and was struck by a falling tree limb as it returned.  No injuries were reported.

 

1 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。

2 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

3 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。

4 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》

5 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 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。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

14 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网