VOA标准英语2012--Analysts Say Partisan Bickering Could Be Good for US

Analysts¹ Say Partisan² Bickering³ Could Be Good for US

Compromise is what most Americans expect their elected officials to do.
“Compromise is not a nasty word. It is how we get things done,” one person who stopped to answer VOA's questions said.
“I would rather see compromise to the better interest of people that are struggling,” another bystander added.
Americans demand bipartisanship, yet they are voting fewer moderates and more hardline ideologues into Congress, resulting in a more polarized legislature. While berating⁴ congressional inaction, voters often opt⁵ for divided government. The last president to enjoy a Congress of the same party for the duration of his tenure⁶ was Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.
For bills to become law, they must pass both houses of Congress. Senate passage usually requires three-fifths backing, giving the minority party a virtual veto.
Is all of this a problem? Not according to conservatives, who point out the framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted limited government. Supreme⁷ Court Justice Antonin Scalia says Americans should “learn to love the gridlock”.
“They talk about a dysfunctional government because there is disagreement. And the framers [of the Constitution] would have said, ‘Yes, that is exactly the way we set it up!’ We wanted this to be power contradicting power,” Scalia said.
Others argue there is a difference between limited government and paralyzed, ineffective governance.
“There are great dangers when people view their government as incapable⁸ of meeting the challenges of the time," noted⁹ historian Allan Lichtman. "The first danger is obviously that people lose faith in their government - that the best people will not want to go into government. Another consequence of having gridlock, of course, is you tend to skirt the most serious problems facing the country.”
The U.S. government was designed to block any one political force from exerting its will unchecked. So consensus¹⁰ and compromise are required to enact¹¹ laws - precisely¹² what most Americans demand. Are politicians listening? Maybe, says Frank Newport, with the polling firm Gallup.
“Now you have a lot of congressmen in Washington saying ‘You know, nobody likes us. We are less well-liked than car salesmen’. And, hopefully, they will ask themselves why, and they will read the data showing that Americans want compromise,” Newport said.
Members of Congress certainly speak of bipartisanship.
“It is time to continue to work together, find common ground, to do what the American people expect of us,” said House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.
“Democrats, Republicans, independents - all have said one thing to us. They want us to work together,” noted former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Compromise, however, is often most challenging in an election year, like this one.

1 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。

2 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

3 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 berating   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He deserved the berating that the coach gave him. 他活该受到教练的严厉训斥。 来自互联网
• The boss is berating those who were late for work. 老板正在呵斥那些上班迟到的员工。 来自互联网

5 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

6 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

11 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

12 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。