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　　The Bush administration is attempting to dampen expectations for immediate¹ government action to save America's troubled car manufacturers.
美国的三大汽车公司正在谋求政府资助。但是布什政府星期二表示，政府不会表示立即采取行动来拯救陷入困境的美国汽车制造商。
Two of America's main three automakers are believed to be weeks - if not days - away from bankruptcy³. That is an outcome the Bush administration says should be avoided, yet White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the president will not be rushed into making a hasty decision when it comes to federal intervention⁴.
美国三大汽车公司中的两家濒临破产，它们即使不在几天之内倒闭，也有可能在几个星期内宣布破产。尽管布什政府说应该避免这种结局，但是白宫发言人佩里诺表示，说到联邦政府出面干预的问题，布什总统不会仓促做出决定。
Perino was asked if a rescue plan for the auto² industry is imminent⁵.
当被问到拯救汽车工业的计划是否指日可待时。
"We did not signal that it would be almost immediate," she said. "I do not know of an imminent announcement coming from us. We are trying to take the time to do it right."
她说：“我们没有表示过会马上采取行动。我也不知道我们会立即宣布有关计划。我们正在把握时间尽量把事情做好。”
Last week, the Senate rejected a multi-billion dollar package of bridge loans to carmakers. After the vote, the White House signaled its willingness to consider other options it had previously⁶ ruled out, including possibly tapping funds from the $700 billion financial rescue package Congress approved in October.
上个星期，参议院拒绝了向汽车制造商提供几十亿美元短期贷款的方案。在投票之后，白宫发出信号，表示愿意考虑此前被它排除的其他方案，包括可能动用国会10月份批准的7千亿美元金融救助计划中的资金。
Perino says the administration is reviewing the auto companies' financial figures while attempting to craft a government response to the situation. She says no one wants to see the U.S. auto industry go bankrupt, but that President Bush will only approve a rescue plan if he is satisfied that the industry will put itself on a path to long term viability⁷.
佩里诺表示，布什政府在试图对情况做出反应的同时，正在审核汽车公司的财务数据。她说，没有人希望看到美国的汽车工业倒闭，但是布什总统只有在看到汽车工业能够把自己置于一个长期生存的道路上才会批准一个救助计划。
"One of the options here is allowing the companies to go into a disorderly bankruptcy," she said. "That is one of the options that is least favored by the president. Put it at the bottom of the list, because he does not think, I the current weakened state of our economy, we could sustain such a body blow."
她说：“一个选择是允许这些公司出现无序的倒闭。这是布什总统最不喜欢的一种选择。所以这个被放在所有选择的最后面，因为鉴于我们经济目前的疲软状态，他不认为我们能够承受这样一个严重的打击。”
Millions of American jobs are tied directly or indirectly⁸ to the country's domestic automobile⁹ industry, widely viewed as the backbone¹⁰ of the shrinking U.S. manufacturing base.
数以百万计的美国工作直接或是间接地与美国国内的汽车行业有关。这个行业被普遍看作是日益缩小的美国制造业基地的主干。
For years, American carmakers have focused on larger vehicles, almost ceding¹¹ the small car market to foreign brands. Sales of trucks and utility vehicles plummeted¹² when fuel prices skyrocketed earlier this year, and vehicle sales of all kinds have faltered¹³ during the economic slowdown.
多年来，美国的汽车制造商都把焦点放在更大的汽车上，几乎把小车市场拱手让给外国汽车生产商。在汽油价格今年早些时候飞涨的时候，卡车和多功能车的销售直线下降。在经济滑坡期间，所有汽车的销售都出现了下跌。