VOA标准英语2012--President Obama Urges Tax Cut Extension to Boost US Economy

President Obama Urges Tax Cut Extension to Boost US Economy

With America’s fragile economic recovery appearing to gain momentum¹, U.S. President Barack Obama has a simple message: keep it going. “The last thing we need is for Washington to stand in the way of America’s comeback. First and foremost, that means Washington should not hike taxes on working Americans right now," he said.
The so-called payroll² tax cut boosted the average family’s income by about a thousand dollars last year. But the measure expires at the end of this month unless Congress acts.
Democratic Senator Max Baucus says the stakes are high. “Extending this tax cut through the end of the year will save families real money, an average of $1,000. These families will spend this extra money at local businesses, pumping it through our economy," he said.
Monday, Republican House Speaker John Boehner relented on his party’s demand for spending reductions to compensate³ for reduced tax revenue. It remains⁴ to be seen whether rank-and-file Republican lawmakers will go along with the concession⁵.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch says the country cannot afford to loose sight of its dire⁶ debt situation. “The total public debt outstanding is over $15.3 trillion, larger than the size of our gross domestic product. A debt-to-GDP ratio above 100-percent is clearly unsustainable and puts us in the ranks of many European countries currently in a severe debt crisis," he said.
President Obama has said the payroll tax cut will end after this year. A prolonged cut would threaten Social Security’s long-term solvency⁷, putting at risk the federal income provided to more than 50 million retirees.

1 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。

2 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

3 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

4 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。

5 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 solvency   

n.偿付能力，溶解力

参考例句：

• Fears about the solvency of the banks precipitated the great economic crash.对银行偿付能力出现恐慌更加速了经济的崩溃。
• Their targets,including profitability ratios,solvency ratios,asset management ratios.其指标包括盈利比率、偿债能力比率、资产管理比率。