CNN 2010-09-12

Hi, I'm Carl Azuz with your morning announcements. One: CNN Student News is on, and you're gonna love it. Two: The CNN Teachers' Lounge is open, and you're gonna hear more about it in just a few minutes!

First up, though, the economy, and a pair of plans that both aim to give it a needed boost. The first one comes from President Obama. During a visit to Cleveland, Ohio yesterday, he laid out his ideas to help the economy. They include cutting taxes for businesses that buy new equipment or do new research; and spending money on the country's infrastructure¹, things like roads and power programs. He also talked about some of the things that have happened since he took office in 2009.

Our economic plan has invested in badly needed infrastructure projects over the last nineteen months. Not just roads and bridges, but high-speed railroads and expanded broadband access. Altogether, these are projects that have led to thousands of good, private sector² jobs, especially for those in the trades. Mr. Boehner and the Republicans in Congress said no to these projects, fought them tooth and nail.

 

You heard President Obama mention a Mr. Boehner there. That would be Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner. He's from Ohio. He says the president's economic plans so far haven't worked, and Mr. Boehner doesn't think the new ideas will work either. He's pushing a different plan to boost the economy, one that comes from Republican leaders in Congress. This one has two main points. The first is to cut government spending. Congressman³ Boehner says that's caused more debt and fewer jobs. The second point is to put a freeze on tax rates for two years. Mr. Boehner argues that when taxes go up, it hurts families and small businesses.

When it comes to something like the Gulf⁴ Coast oil spill, a lot of people want to know whom can be blamed. Well, there's a new report out that puts most of that blame on TransOcean and Halliburton, two companies that BP hired to work on the oil well. But the report was written by BP. The company did accept some of the responsibility. It says faulty cementing, a misread pressure test, and a blowout preventer that wasn't maintained correctly all led to the spill. Halliburton and Transocean have criticized BP's report. One expert talked about how this whole situation is a unique one.
 

1 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。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。