VOA标准英语2013--Washington Week: Focus on Obama 2nd Term Agenda

 

Washington Week: Focus on Obama 2nd Term Agenda

The president is expected to provide additional details on his second-term agenda when he addresses a joint¹ session of a politically-divided Congress. That agenda includes U.S. immigration reform - a cause embraced by Senator Marco Rubio, who will deliver the Republican response to Obama’s speech.

“The majority of Americans believe that we need to have a legal immigration system that works. And they recognize that what we have now is not a 21st century legal immigration system," said Rubio.

Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will examine a bipartisan plan to strengthen U.S. border enforcement, while providing an eventual² path to citizenship³ for 11-million undocumented immigrants in the country.

Testifying at the hearing will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has long spoken out on the issue. “At some point we are going to have to deal with comprehensive immigration reform," she said.

President Obama will likely highlight his administration’s push for gun control when he travels to Asheville, North Carolina Wednesday. Asheville has been a hub of activism on firearms since the December mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

Some Asheville residents released balloons in memory of the victims of gun violence while others held a free raffle⁴ for semi-automatic rifles to demonstrate their opposition⁵ to gun control.

The still-struggling U.S. economy will be a major theme of the president’s visit Thursday to the southern U.S. state of Georgia. Unemployed⁶ Atlanta resident Rod Mack wants to see action to boost jobs.

“People do not really want to be unemployed, they want a job. They are not interested in receiving unemployment [benefits] even though they are entitled to them," he said.

The coming week could also see Senate votes on two high-level Obama Cabinet picks: former Republican senator Chuck Hagel for defense⁷ secretary and John Brennan for CIA director. 

1 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。

2 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 raffle   

n.废物，垃圾，抽奖售卖；v.以抽彩出售

参考例句：

• The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets.这笔款子是通过出售购物彩券筹集的。
• He won a car in the raffle.他在兑奖售物活动中赢得了一辆汽车。

5 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。

6 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

7 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。