VOA标准英语2011--US Congress Prepares to Vote on Three Fr

US Congress Prepares to Vote on Three Free Trade Pacts¹

Both houses of the U.S. Congress are expected to approve free trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The accords were negotiated during the former Bush administration, and had been shelved by the Obama administration until Congress extended assistance programs for U.S. workers affected² by foreign competition. Backers say the trade deals will boost U.S. exports by $13 billion a year, while opponents say they will undercut U.S. workers and undermine America’s ability to press for international human rights.
With the U.S. economy stalling and unemployment stuck above nine percent, many lawmakers see expanded trade as a sorely-needed lifeline. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus:
“The Colombia, Panama, and South Korea trade agreements will create tens of thousands of American jobs," said Baucus. "They will give our ranchers, farmers, workers and businesses a competitive edge in three lucrative³, fast-growing markets.”
The deals are long overdue⁴, according to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.
“Approval of these three free trade agreements will enable US exporters to finally take advantage of the benefits of these agreements that our negotiators secured over four years ago," said Hatch.
The Obama administration pressed South Korea to open its market to U.S. vehicles, pressed Panama to strengthen lax financial regulations, and pressed Colombia to protect labor⁵ leaders. Even so, many U.S. labor groups continue to oppose the pacts, as do human rights activists⁶ who interrupted the Finance Committee hearing.
Echoing specific concerns about Colombia was Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow.
“Last year 51 labor leaders were assassinated⁷," said Stabenow. "So far this year 23 leaders have been assassinated. And I believe it is not just a human rights issue, which of course is very important. It is an issue that affects American workers, because they are undercut when the wages of Colombian workers are kept artificially low due to the denial of basic worker rights.”
But the benefits of expanded trade outweigh⁸ potential pitfalls⁹, according to Democratic Senator John Kerry.
“These agreements are fairly one-sided in our favor," said Kerry. "They actually open up markets that are closed to us and equal a playing field that has been unequal against us for a long period of time.”
With South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visiting Washington, congressional leaders of both parties pressed for passage of the trade pacts before the leader’s address to a joint¹⁰ session of Congress Thursday.

1 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

8 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

9 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

10 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。