VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Presses For New Ideas For Jobs

US President asks for help on how to reduce country's high unemployment rate at White House Jobs Summit attended by more than 100 business executives, entrepreneurs, and labor¹ union officials

Kent Klein | Washington 03 December 2009

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President Barack Obama takes a question at the Jobs and Economic Growth Forum² in Washington, 3 Dec 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama has met with leaders from business, labor, education, government and nonprofit groups to look for ways to create jobs. The so-called job summit was held Thursday one day before November's unemployment figures are due out.  

With the U.S. jobless rate above ten percent, President Obama says he wants to take action now. "Every day I meet people or I hear from people who talk about sending out resume after resume, and they have been on the job hunt for a year or year and a half and still cannot find anything and are desperate.  They have not just lost the paycheck they need to live; they are losing the sense of dignity and identity that comes from having a job," she said.

The president invited about 130 guests to the White House, and challenged them to help him find ways to put millions of Americans back to work.  "Now, let me be clear.  I am open to every demonstrably good idea, and I want to take very responsible step to accelerate job creation," he said.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that government initiatives cannot completely solve the unemployment problem, and that the private sector³ will have to create large numbers of new jobs. "So we cannot make any ill-considered decisions right now, even with the best of intentions.  We are going to have to be surgical⁴ and we are going to have to be creative.  We are going to have to be smart and strategic," he said.

The president spoke⁵ to several smaller groups at the summit.  He talked with one group about creating jobs by promoting energy efficiency and so-called clean energy.  He also asked business leaders to campaign for energy legislation in the U.S. Senate.

At the same time, opposition⁶ Republicans in Washington held their own forum on jobs.  Many agreed that the president's economic programs are not working and that he should reverse course.

Aside from the high jobless rate, Mr. Obama credits his $787 billion economic stimulus⁷ plan with the recent improvement in the nation's economy.  He says the economy is growing for the first time in a year, productivity is surging, companies are reporting profits and the stock market is showing gains.

The president takes his campaign for his economic agenda to the Eastern city of Allentown, Pennsylvania on Friday, and he will make a major economic speech next Tuesday.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 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。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。