2006年VOA标准英语-Democrats Lay Out Agenda for Majority Rule in H

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
08 November 2006
 
After their victories in Tuesday's mid-term election, Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are laying out their agenda for majority rule, while Republicans analyze¹ their losses. Democrats² have again called on President Bush to work with them on a plan that would bring U.S. troops home from Iraq.

-----

Democratic leaders in the House used separate news conferences to talk about how they intend to use their new power in the House.

Voted into the majority with a gain of at least 30 seats in the House, Democrats plan to tackle a range of foreign and domestic issues, from the war in Iraq to the economy and corruption³ in Congress.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, (r), and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee   
  
Rahm Emanuel, chief architect of the Democrats' campaign strategy, says they will use their majority to move the country forward, while trying to avoid what he calls the politics of polarization practiced by Republicans.

"There are not just good Democratic ideas and bad Republican ideas, or good Republican ideas and bad Democratic ideas; there are ideas that either move you forward or take you back and if we approach it that way I think we're going to make a lot of progress," he said.

Democratic priorities, include implementing⁴ recommendations of the bipartisan commission that investigated the September 11 [2001] attacks, increasing the minimum wage, and laying the groundwork for an eventual⁵ U.S. troop withdrawal⁶ from Iraq.

 
Nancy Pelosi, Nov. 8, 2006  
  
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, poised⁷ to become the first female to hold the powerful post of Speaker of the House in January, says Democrats want to bring integrity and civility to Congress, and held out the offer of cooperation to President Bush.

"We pledged partnerships⁸ with Republicans in Congress, and with the president, and not partisanship," she said.

But for Democrats to achieve their goals will partly depend on the final election results for the Senate, now hanging on the outcome of one still undetermined race in the state of Virginia.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, are analyzing⁹ their losses.

Congressman¹⁰ Tom Reynolds, who headed his party's campaign operations, blames losses on what he calls the sour national [political] environment, asserting the results while disappointing were not really surprising.

"The election really was a matter of history repeating itself," he said. "Second term, mid-term elections are the toughest for the president's party, and one like last night is absolutely no different."

In a post-election telephone conversation with President Bush, House Speaker-designate Pelosi says she emphasized the need to work together on Iraq.

"We know that stay the course [in Iraq] is not working, has not made our country safer, it has not honored our commitment to our troops and it has not brought stability to the region. We must not continue on this catastrophic path."

Pelosi and other Democrats will have an opportunity to drive home their views on Iraq and other matters when they meet with the president on Thursday.

In a news conference Wednesday, the president stood firm in his position that any precipitous U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would be harmful and undermine democracy there.

Prospective¹¹ House Majority Leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer, said Democrats want success in Iraq no less than Republicans, adding that an upcoming report by a special commission headed by former Secretary of State James Baker¹² will be a key to charting a new course.

Baker has said that report was delayed to ensure it would not influence the results of the congressional mid-term election.

1 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

5 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

8 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

9 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

12 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。