VOA标准英语2009年-US Senate Ends F-22 Fighter Jet Program

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to end funding for the most sophisticated U.S. fighter jet, supporting President Barack Obama on one of the most controversial issues to come before the Congress since he took office six months ago.
　
A 22 Jun 2009 photo released by US Navy shows an F-22 Raptor during a supersonic flyby in the Gulf¹ of Alaska

President Obama had threatened to veto his own defense² budget if the Congress added $1.75 billion to produce more F-22 Raptor aircraft. But he did not have to do that, as the Senate voted down the funding 58 to 40.

The F-22 is the most sophisticated jet fighter in the world and the U.S. Air Force will complete the original plan to field 187 of them. But on the advice of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and senior military leaders, President Obama decided³ that no more are needed for national defense. Some members of Congress disagree, and want to build more of the planes. Many also acknowledge they are concerned about job losses at factories in their districts that produce parts for the plane.
　
U.S. President Barack Obama (file photo)

Just after the Senate vote, President Obama thanked the members for their support. His comments reflected what other officials have said - that ending the F-22 program is just one part of the effort to shift the focus of U.S. defenses away from what they see as the relatively⁴ remote possibility of a war with a major power and toward the types of smaller-scale conflicts of recent years.

"At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit⁵, this would have been an inexcusable waste of money. Every dollar of waste in our defense budget is a dollar we can't spend to support our troops or prepare for future threats or protect the American people," he said.

Although there was considerable congressional opposition⁶ to President Obama's plan among Democrats⁸ and Republicans, he also had supporters in both parties. Among them were the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrat⁷ Carl Levin, and the committee's senior Republican, John McCain - the president's opponent in last year's election.

The F-22 is what experts call an "air superiority" fighter, designed to defeat enemy jets in mid-air battles. It has not been involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The military is already shifting to a newer, slightly less sophisticated aircraft, the F-35 Joint⁹ Strike Fighter, designed more for attacking targets on the ground. The F-35 will be used by the U.S. Air Force and also by the Navy to fly off of aircraft carriers. It will also be sold to allied¹⁰ countries.

Secretary Gates said that as production of the F-35 is ramped¹¹ up during the next few years, far more jobs will be added in the U.S. aerospace¹² industry than will be lost with the ending of the F-22 program.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

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 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 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》

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

11 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

12 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。