美国国家公共电台 NPR--State of the Union will give Biden a chance to reset the White House agenda

State of the Union will give Biden a chance to reset¹ the White House agenda

Transcript²

President Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address Tuesday night. What do we expect to hear from the president on how the country and his administration are doing?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tonight, President Biden stands before Congress.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

He performs his constitutional duty to update lawmakers on the State of the Union. And the cameras at the back of the chamber³ mean the event will be seen by more voters than any other speech he gives this year.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Yeah, I want to talk to the American people and let them know the state of affairs, what's going on and what I'm looking forward to working on from this point on, what we've done and just have a conversation with the American people.

INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith will now have a conversation with us. Tam, good morning.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: What's the president's challenge tonight?

KEITH: Well, any president would like to stand up and say the State of the Union is strong. And they all more or less do say that.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

KEITH: But there are a lot of Americans who aren't so sure right now. A recent ABC News-Washington Post poll found 40% of Americans say that they are worse off now than they were when President Biden took office. Inflation is no doubt a big driver of that feeling. And it's been falling recently. But it's still uncomfortably high. So Biden has to show Americans that he feels their pain while also talking about what he feels are very real accomplishments⁵. Brian Deese, a top economic adviser⁶ at the White House, said the president's message will be that there is more work to do, but there has been progress. And that's a reason to, quote, "continue down the path of progress that we have made."

INSKEEP: When you hear continue down the path, people will perceive - point toward reelection there.

KEITH: Yes, it does sound like a reelection pitch. And in many ways, this speech is an unofficial launch for a message that we can expect to hear a lot of. If President Biden follows through on his stated plan to run for reelection, this is a primetime preview, if you will, of the campaign we're expecting. So that's why he was hunkered down over the weekend with his top advisers⁷ at Camp David. And he ended up returning to the White House yesterday afternoon hours later than originally planned.

INSKEEP: Tam, as you know very well, it's a tradition going back at least to Ronald Reagan that presidents bring in guests to point out during the speech. It's almost like casting for a play because the people are there to illustrate⁸ different themes. So who's invited for this speech?

KEITH: Yeah, and we have some news on this. On the list of invitees are the mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols. That's the man who was fatally beaten by police in Memphis. So it is a safe bet that Biden is going to call on Congress to pass policing reform. There's a man who disarmed⁹ the shooter in Monterey Park, Calif. We know Biden wants a ban on assault weapons. There's a woman who nearly died because of a delay in getting abortion¹⁰ care due to the Texas abortion ban. There's a New Hampshire dad who lost one of his daughters to a fentanyl overdose, several people who have had cancer touch their lives.

There are also people benefiting from the big spending bills on infrastructure¹¹ and semiconductors¹², a Holocaust¹³ survivor¹⁴, a DACA program participant who was brought to the U.S. by her parents when she was 3. As you can tell, these speeches often take on something of a list form because there are so many different stories and different things that the president is calling for - also, famous people like Bono from the band U2, who's been involved with work on HIV and AIDS, and Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was the victim of politically motivated violence.

INSKEEP: Quite a list of casting credits. Tam, thanks so much.

KEITH: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: That's NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith with some news on who will appear at the State of the Union.

(SOUNDBITE OF STAN FOREBEE'S "REFLECTIONS")

1 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

2 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。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 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。

5 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

9 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 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。

12 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

13 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

14 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。