VOA双语新闻 US State of Union Address Has Long History（在线收听）

President Bush's annual State of the Union Address to Congress and the American people Wednesday is the latest installment of a Washington ritual that dates back to the time of the first U.S. president, George Washington.

布什总统星期三晚间将向国会和美国人民发表年度国情咨文讲话。这个做法可以追溯到美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿时代。

"Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States!"

"美国总统，发言人先生！"

With that familiar introduction in the U.S. House chamber, an American president prepares to deliver the annual State of the Union Address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

在美国众议院议事厅在习惯的介绍后，一个美国总统准备向美国国会上下两议院联席会议发表年度国情咨文讲话。

President George Washington delivered the first State of the Union Address in 1790. But for more than 100 years beginning in 1801, presidents sent a written version of their address to Congress that was read out loud by a clerk. It was President Woodrow Wilson who re-established the practice of delivering a State of the Union speech in person, in 1913.

乔治·华盛顿总统1790年发表了第一次国情咨文讲话。不过，在1801年以后的100多年里，各任总统只是向国会提交讲话稿，由工作人员朗读。1913年，伍德罗·威尔逊总统重新开始了由总统本人亲自发表讲话的做法。

The requirement for the address stems from the U.S. Constitution. It mandates that the president "shall from time to time give to Congress information on the State of the Union."

美国宪法规定，总统“应该不断向国会介绍国情状况”。

In the modern era, State of the Union speeches have become an opportunity for the president to lay out a lengthy series of specific policy proposals on a wide range of issues.

在现代，国情咨文已成为总统就广泛问题详细阐述一系列具体政策的机会。

"In terms of the State of the Union, that is when you put the bricks on the scaffolding," said American University presidential historian Allan Lichtman on VOA's Encounter program.

美利坚大学历史学家利奇就这个问题在VOA"面对面"节目中说：“国情咨文是把目标具体化的过程。”

Over the years, the State of the Union Address has become an opportunity for a president not only to propose policy, but to claim success for past policy decisions and rally party supporters as well.

多年来，国情咨文不仅成为总统提出政策建议的机会，而且还成为总统宣告过去决策成功、并团结政党支持者的机会。

For example, last year President Bush talked about his tax cuts. "Americans are proving once again to be the hardest working people in the world. The American economy is growing stronger. The tax relief you passed is working," he said.

例如，布什总统去年谈到了他的减税计划。布什说：“美国人民再次证明，他们是世界上最勤奋的人。美国经济日渐强大。你们通过的税务缓解计划正在发挥作用。”

Historically, presidents have also used the State of the Union Address to inspire lawmakers and ordinary citizens alike to attain loftier goals.

历史上，美国总统还通过国情咨文鼓舞议员和普通民众，实现更加崇高的目标。

"The concept of summoning, challenging the American people to live up to their highest obligations as citizens of this country to help achieve peace around the world and justice here at home," said Ted Sorenson, who worked on many speeches for President John Kennedy, at a recent symposium sponsored by The New York Times and broadcast by the C-SPAN public affairs network.

索伦森曾经为约翰·肯尼迪总统起草过许多讲话。索伦森最近在一次由纽约时报和C-SPAN公共事务网组织的研讨会上说：“要号召和挑战美国人民，鼓励他们作为这个国家公民履行他们的崇高责任，在全世界实现和平，在国内实现公正。”

The State of the Union also provides the president with an opportunity to build support for his policy proposals among both houses of Congress and the general public.

国情咨文还使总统有机会争取国会两院和民众支持他的政策建议。

"The State of the Union is one of those events that have symbolic importance for the country. It is an occasion of pomp and tradition. It involves a nationally televised audience. It is an opportunity for the president to try to shape the policy-making agenda, to influence public opinion," said Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington, who spoke to VOA TV.

在华盛顿布鲁克林协会的政治分析家托马斯.曼恩对VOA电视台说："国情咨文是那些对国家有重要象征意义的事件之一，它是一个既传统又盛大的场合。全国的电视观众都可以收看到，它是总统试图形成政策制定议程的一个机会，来影响公众意见。"

The process of writing and rewriting a State of the Union speech can take months. Ray Price recalled his experience as a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon.

起草和修改国情咨文讲话稿的过程可能花上几个月。雷.浦莱斯回忆了他当时作为理查德.尼克松总统演讲稿撰写人时的经历。

"We would normally go back and forth through about seven or eight drafts. I would edit him, he would edit me, I would edit him, he would edit me as he was thinking the thing through," he said.

浦莱斯说:"我们通常前后从头到尾要起草7到8份的草稿。我们会互相校正，他在为我校正时就象他正在思考从头至尾所有的事情一样。"

Ronald Reagan took the State of the Union Address to new heights during his presidency in the 1980s. He began the practice of introducing well-known figures as well as private citizens notable for some achievement, who were sitting in the House Gallery. These guests are usually interwoven into the president's speech.

在罗纳德.里根20世纪80年代就职于总统期间把国情咨文提升到了一个新的高度。他开始练习介绍一些正陈列于众议院画廊里的著名人物，当然也有一些取得过一些业绩的民间百姓。这些客人通常交织于总统的讲话中。

For many years, the address was simply referred to as the President's Annual Message to Congress. It was President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1935, who began the practice of referring to the speech as the State of the Union Address.

很多年里，这个讲话仅仅被称为总统向国会提交的年度讲话。罗斯福总统1935年开始尝试把它叫做“国情咨文”。