美国国家公共电台 NPR--国情咨文演讲是拜登展示自己处理危机能力的机会

State of the Union speech is a chance for Biden to show he's got a handle on crises

Transcript¹

President Biden is set to give his Tuesday night address at a moment when the White House is tackling the Ukraine crisis, soaring inflation and the lingering pandemic.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Spillover from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation, the pandemic - President Biden is juggling² a lot. And he'll need to get into all these things tonight during his State of the Union address. He'll need to prove that he also has it all under control. And polling shows that that'll take some convincing. Here to discuss, we go now to NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordo?ez. Let's start with Russia and Ukraine, Franco. How much should we expect the president to get into that tonight?

FRANCO ORDO?EZ, BYLINE³: It's going to be a significant part of the speech. I mean, this is one of the biggest television audiences that he'll get all year. So he's going to take the opportunity to explain to Americans what he's doing about the crisis. Here's White House press secretary Jen Psaki talking about that.

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JEN PSAKI: He will talk about the steps we've taken to not only support the Ukrainian people with military and economic assistance but also the steps he's taken to build a global coalition⁴ imposing⁵ crippling financial sanctions on President Putin, his inner circle and the Russian economy.

ORDO?EZ: And Psaki says Biden will talk about U.S. leadership and its importance in the world, also the strength of the West when democracies rally together like they have. You know, but this situation is having a big impact on oil prices because Russia is such a big producer and exporter. So Biden's also expected to talk about steps to mitigate⁶ those price spikes⁷.

MARTINEZ: What can he do, though, about gas prices? And how important is this issue of price inflation for him politically, actually?

ORDO?EZ: It's big. I mean, polls show Americans are very concerned about rising prices and don't think he's doing enough about it. And the fact is that inflation is largely beyond his control. But he is going to try to show what he is doing what he can about it. You know, he's expected to outline a four-point plan to lower prices, including making more things in America and strengthening supply chains. And you can expect to hear him talk about infrastructure⁸. Passing that law last year was a highlight of the year and is expected to create a bunch of jobs. And he'll try again, as he usually does, to make the case that his White House has overseen⁹ the fastest economic growth in 40 years. He's also expected to talk about his ideas for lowering costs for child care and prescription¹⁰ drug prices, although his big social safety net plan, the Build Back Better plan, has stalled in Congress.

MARTINEZ: The president's approval rating's very poor right now. In fact, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows 56% of respondents saw his first year in office as a failure. So what does that mean for this speech tonight?

ORDO?EZ: You know, it means the stakes are really high, given that this is one of the political events of the year where people really tend to tune¹¹ in and pay attention, and also because we're getting so close to the midterm elections. So he'll need to make a compelling case that he's doing something about the issues voters care about. And inflation is for one. But he'll also try to showcase that he's accomplished¹² some things that he promised to do. One of those things is his nomination¹³ of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme¹⁴ Court. If confirmed, she'll be the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation. And after a long winter and a long two years of COVID-19, there some optimism about the pandemic that he can point to. So there could be some tangible¹⁵ signs of things to get back to normal, a thing that he's expected to talk about.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordo?ez. Thanks a lot.

ORDO?EZ: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

6 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

7 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

10 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

11 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

12 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。

13 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

14 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。

15 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。