VOA常速英语2014--Washington Gearing Up for Obama's State of the Union Speech 华盛顿为奥巴马国情咨文做好准备（在线收听）

Washington Gearing Up for Obama's State of the Union Speech 华盛顿为奥巴马国情咨文做好准备

Washington is gearing up for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, to be delivered Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol. The White House has already revealed major themes the president will discuss, and Republicans have telegraphed how they will respond.

美国总统奥巴马星期二将在美国国会发表国情咨文，华盛顿已经为此做好准备。白宫已经透露总统的谈话主题，而共和党人也就如何回应发了电报。

Obama’s agenda for his sixth year in office includes a sharp focus on the growing gap between rich and poor Americans, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.

白宫发言人卡尼说，奥巴马总统的任期迈入第六年，他的主要议题包括解决越来越大的贫富差距。

“The president sees this as a year of action, to work with Congress where he can and to bypass Congress where necessary to lift folks who want to come up into the middle class,” Carney told reporters during the White House press briefing.

卡尼说：“总统认为这个问题要花一年的时间行动，有时要和国会合作，有时则必须绕过国会，帮忙扶一把那些希望进入中产阶级的人。”

Republicans agree on the need for greater economic opportunity, but say the president stands in the way. Saturday, Senator Roy Blunt gave a preemptive rebuttal to the State of the Union address.

共和党人同意有必要扩充经济机会，不过他们说，奥巴马总统挡了路。共和党籍联邦参议员罗伊·布朗特星期六先发制人，就奥巴马国情咨文的可能内容提出反驳。

“What President Obama fails to acknowledge is that Americans are hurting as a result of his own policies," Blunt said. "This administration’s agenda to create more government, more spending, more taxes, and more debt has created an inequality crisis of opportunity in our country. Those policies have been disproportionately hurtful to the poorest among us for the past five years.”

布朗特说：“奥巴马总统不承认美国人由于他的政策而受到伤害。奥巴马政府的议程是扩充政府治能、扩大政府支出、征收更多税收、带来更大负债，这些导致了机会不平等的危机。过去五年，这些政策不成比例地、尤其伤害了最贫困的人。”

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a critic of the federal activism Obama champions, will deliver the Republican response to the president’s address.

共和党对总统国情咨文的回应，将由女联邦众议员凯茜·麦克莫里斯·罗杰斯发表。她对奥巴马联邦主义的拥护者提出批评。

“When Washington is the biggest obstacle to economic growth, we have a problem," Rogers said.

罗杰斯说：“我们无法忍受华盛顿成为经济增长的最大障碍。”

The White House countered by saying the Republican criticism is misguided, and ignores recent history.

白宫则说共和党人的抨击不但误导大众，而且忽略最近的历史。

“A lot of people were thrown into poverty by the worst recession since the Great Depression, which was in full bloom when President Obama was sworn into office," Carney noted.

卡尼说：“许多人由于经济大萧条之后，美国所遭遇最惨的经济不景气而陷入贫困，不过，他们的经济状况在奥巴马就任之后蓬勃发展。”

Few observers expect the president’s address to jump-start bipartisan action in a polarized Congress. At the very least, it will preview political battle lines and rhetorical markers for the year ahead, an election year in which all House seats and one-third of the senate will be contested.

一些观察家预期，国情咨文演说将让已经两极分化的国会更快速地展开两党之争。在未来一年里，联邦众议院所有席位、以及三分之一联邦参议院席位将面临改选，它至少可以预览政治线路之争以及争议言论。