VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Defends Economic Progress Ahead

President Barack Obama listens during a talk about the economy in Columbus, Ohio, 18 Aug 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama is concluding a three-day, five-state trip around the country, defending his administration's progress in repairing the economy.  Support for the president's economic plan is fading as mid-term elections for Congress get closer.

 

President Obama took his campaign-style trip to the back yard of a family in the Midwestern U.S. city of Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday.

He talked with Joe and Rhonda Weithman, and several dozen of their neighbors about the main issue on the minds of many Americans this election year, the U.S. economy.

"Whereas we were losing jobs in the private sector¹ when I was first sworn in, we are now gaining jobs and we have gained jobs seven consecutive² months in the private sector," said President Obama.  "The economy was shrinking about six percent, and the economy is now growing.  So we have made progress.  But, let's face it, the progress has not been fast enough."

An Associated Press public opinion poll shows that only 41 percent of those surveyed believe Mr. Obama has done a good job handling the economy.

The nation's unemployment rate remains³ stalled at 9.5 percent.  Ohio, which has lost many of its manufacturing jobs, has a jobless rate of more than 10 percent.

At Wednesday's informal meeting, the president said it will take time to regain⁴ the eight million jobs that have been lost during the past two years.  But he said confidence will grow as the economy rebounds⁵.

"So what we are trying to do is create a virtuous⁶ cycle, where people start feeling better and better about the economy.  And a lot of it is sort of like recovering from an illness - you get a little bit stronger each day, and you take a few more steps each day.  And that is where our economy is at right now," President Obama added.

On this trip, the president has been campaigning and raising money for Democratic Party candidates in Wisconsin, California, Washington state and Florida, as well as Ohio.

The entire House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate and many state governorships will be up for election in November.

After the back yard gathering⁷, the president held a fund-raising event for Ohio's governor, where he criticized Republicans for their opposition⁸ to his economic initiatives.

"'No' on clean energy jobs, right here in Ohio and across the country.  'No' on making college more affordable⁹.  'No' on Wall Street reform.  Do you remember our slogan during the [2008 presidential] campaign?  'Yes, We Can.'  This year, their slogan is 'No, We Can't,'" said President Obama

Republicans say Mr. Obama's policies involve too much government spending and will hurt the economy rather than helping¹⁰ it.

After his campaign swing, the president is scheduled to return to Washington briefly¹¹ before he and his family start a 10-day vacation on the resort island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

 

1 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。

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

5 rebounds   

反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴

参考例句：

• V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
• In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。

6 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 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。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 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。