VOA标准英语2013--Government Shutdown Fueled by Texas Voters

 

Government Shutdown Fueled by Texas Voters 

HOUSTON — The current shutdown of the U.S. government has widespread  support among conservatives in Texas, who vehemently¹ oppose President  Obama's health care reform law, known as "Obamacare."  But, there are  also many Texans frustrated² by the shutdown and its effects on programs  they say are needed.

This U.S. Army Reserve Armory³ in Houston was supposed to be full of  Texas National Guard soldiers engaged in training this weekend, but the  shutdown shut all that down as well, says Major Brian Hildebrand.

“Because we have postponed⁴ it, they are not getting that training that  we need to get done," he said.

Houston is also home to the Johnson Space Center, where a small staff  maintains essential operations for the International Space Station.   All but around 100 of the more than 3,000 employees are furloughed.

But overall, the government shutdown has had little impact on the  average person and many people pay it little attention.

The people here with the most interest in what is going on in  Washington are conservatives who are members of the so-called Tea  Party.

Like many others who regularly attend Tea Party events, retired⁵  engineer Dennis Altom wants Republican senators and representatives to  hold firm.

"I am hoping that our conservatives hold out and actually hold the  Democrats' feet to the fire," said Altom.

Altom agrees with the effort to stop Obamacare, which he says would  bankrupt the nation.  And he dismisses dire⁶ warnings about the  consequences of failing to raise the debt limit.

"I don't want them to raise the debt ceiling any further.  We have put  this country in way too much debt as it is," he said.

Julie Turner, president of the Texas Patriots⁷ PAC, or political action  committee, believes standing⁸ firm will strengthen the movement.

"If we, the people, advocate for our principles, we will soon see  candidates from all political parties embracing our principles to get  elected," said Turner.

Such grassroots activism in Texas has helped Republicans gain all major  state offices and dominate the state legislature.

But there are still millions of voters here, like Merry Foxworth, who  are outraged⁹ by the conservative agenda and the tactics that led to the  federal shutdown.

"I think it is just absolutely unconscionable what they are doing.  It  is immoral¹⁰, it is unethical," said Foxworth.

As a longtime advocate of a single-payer health care system, Foxworth  has her own criticisms of Obamacare, but she is not ready to abandon  it.

"I don't think we should repeal¹¹ Obamacare because you can't go and take  away those few good things it does for the people it would help," she  said.

Foxworth says the mostly white, middle-class Tea Party conservatives  don't care about the millions of Texans who rely on federal government -supported programs for the poor, disabled and elderly.

But the conservative Texans say they are gaining widespread support and  they have shown a readiness to punish lawmakers who stray from their  agenda. 

1 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

8 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。

9 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

10 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

11 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。