VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Vows To Fight For Jobs, Health R

U.S. President Barack Obama says he will not stop fighting to create jobs, reform health care or clean up the financial industry.  The president took his populist appeal to the recession-battered central state of Ohio Friday. 

President Obama's energetic speech at a community college near Cleveland took on the appearance of a campaign rally.

The president told the crowd at a public forum¹ his recent political setbacks will not stop him from moving forward on his agenda. I will not stop fighting for you.  I will take my lumps, but I will not stop fighting to bring back jobs here.  I will not stop fighting for an economy where hard work is rewarded," he said.

In an area where manufacturing jobs have disappeared and the unemployment rate has risen above the national average, Mr. Obama called on Congress to pass a new job-creation bill.

The president acknowledged Tuesday's election of a Republican senator in Massachusetts, which gives the opposition² party enough votes to block health care reform and other Democratic priorities.

But he said he is not giving up on fixing health care, and that he did not tackle the issue to boost his political standing³. "I am trying to solve the problems that folks here in Ohio and across this country face every day.  And I am not going to walk away just because it is hard.  We are going to keep on working to get this done, with Democrats⁴, I hope with Republicans, anybody who is willing to step up," he said.

Mr. Obama defended his efforts to strengthen the U.S. economy, which included unpopular moves to bail⁵ out banks and rescue automakers.

He also touted⁶ his more popular effort to reform the nation's financial industry and hold bank executives more accountable. "I just want to have some rules in place so that when these guys make dumb decisions, you do not end up having to foot the bill. That is pretty straightforward⁷.  I do not mind having that fight," he said.

Mr. Obama smiled and joked throughout the forum, and earlier, as he toured the community college's wind turbine lab.

The president also made an unscheduled stop at a local restaurant, where he spoke⁸ briefly⁹ with a 98-year-old man and bought another man a bowl of chili¹⁰ on his birthday. 

The politically-mixed state of Ohio is often crucial to presidential campaigns.  And Mr. Obama's approval ratings have slipped as the nation's unemployment rate hovers¹¹ around ten percent.

1 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。

2 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。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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》

5 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

6 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

7 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

8 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。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

11 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。