CNN 2010-02-03

by ljdsoft

AZUZ: After the State of the Union, presidents will often travel around the country promoting some of the ideas and programs that they announced during the speech. President Obama hit the road by train. He's pushing for a nationwide, high-speed rail system, kind of like the one you see in this animation¹. The government would spend $8 billion on this. That money would come from the stimulus² program. But some critics say it's not enough money to really do much. President Obama, who was talking about the program in Florida yesterday, called it an investment in the long-term growth of the country's economy. Basically, spending money now to get benefits in the future. But investments can take a while to pay off. When Spain built a high-speed rail line, it cost $35 billion and took 20 years.

 

Blog Report

 

AZUZ: So, we asked for your ideas on how to fix the economy. Got more than 200 comments from you so far. Lucas writes that "the solution is not for the government to tax the wealthy and distribute the money; the solution's to cut taxes and let the people stimulate³ the economy." Jose believes taxes should be raised slightly. "Although that might be bad at first," he writes, "it would have an overall positive effect on the economy." Calvin argues, "If only we kids ran the nation. We know more about the economy than everyone thinks." This is a Quick Poll⁴ we put up, asking your opinion about the State of the Union. Nine percent of you think things are going well. 56 percent say things could be better. 35 percent say they stink⁵. Bryant asked, "If America's a land of opportunity, then why can't so many Americans find jobs? We need to bring jobs back." Luke compared the union to a battleground for squabbling children, saying, "President Obama seemed to take on the role of a teacher who needed to straighten out the quarreling in Washington." And an anonymous⁶ viewer wrote in: "Put on your big-boy pants, America, and fix your own problems because the government is not 'mommy.'" Very interesting comments, y'all!
 

1 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

2 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

3 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

4 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

5 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

6 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。