VOA常速英语2013--本周华盛顿关注经济,医疗改革

 

Washington Week: Focus on Economy, Health Care 本周华盛顿关注经济,医疗改革

WASHINGTON — After a week-long vacation, U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on proposals to strengthen the still-recovering American economy.  The agenda includes implementation¹ of his signature - and politically polarizing - initiative to reform the nation’s health care system.

The Affordable² Care Act, or Obamacare as some call it, expands federal health care programs for the needy³ and encourages Americans of all income groups to purchase private health care insurance.

平价医疗法案,或者像有些人称之为的奥巴马医改将为穷人扩大联邦医疗项目并鼓励所有收入阶层的美国人购买私人医疗保险。

“If you do not have insurance, beginning on October 1st, private plans will actually compete for your business.  You can comparison shop in an online marketplace, just like you would for cell phone plans or plane tickets.  You may be eligible⁴ for new tax credits to help you afford the plan that’s right for you.  And if you are in the up to half of all Americans who have been sick or have a preexisting condition, this law means that beginning January 1st, insurance companies have to cover you," he said.

“如果你没有保险,从10月1日开始,私人计划实际上会为你的业务而争取。你可以在在线市场进行比较消费,就像你的手机计划或机票一样。你可能有资格获得新的税收抵免来帮你承担适合你自己的计划。而且如果你属于一直生病或有一种前提存在条件下的一半的美国人,这项法律意味着从1月1日开始,保险公司必须将你涵盖在内。”他说道。

Health-care spending accounts for one-seventh of U.S. economic activity, and is projected to increase to one-fifth in coming years.  The cost has a direct bearing on America’s economic and fiscal⁵ wellbeing.  Enacted in 2010, the Affordable Care Act aims to control costs and expand access to health care.  The effort is a colossal⁶ failure, according to Republican lawmakers like Tim Griffin and Todd Young.

医疗支出占美国经济活动的七分之一,而且预计在未来几年内将增加到五分之一。成本也直接关系到美国的经济和财政健康。2010年颁布的这项平价医疗法案旨在控制成本及扩大卫生保健范围。但像是蒂姆·格里芬和托德·杨的共和党议员评价对此的努力是一次巨大的失败。

“Republicans will continue to do everything we can to protect all Americans from the president's top-down, one-size-fits-all, Washington-knows-best approach to health care that is driving up costs and hurting our economy," said Griffin.

“共和党人将一如既往竭尽所能保护所有美国人免受总统自上至下，一刀切,华盛顿人所共知的最好的方法来提高成本,损害我们经济的医疗保健侵害。”格里芬说道。

Young added, “The sooner we can delay, dismantle⁷, and repeal⁸ the president's health-care law, the sooner we can get people back to work and focus on expanding opportunity for everyone.”

杨补充道,“我们越早推迟,摒弃并废除奥巴马总统的医疗法律,我们就越早可以让人们重新回到工作岗位并集中于为每个人扩大机会。”

The president accuses Republicans of putting partisanship⁹ ahead of Americans’ health-care needs. “A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they will somehow be sticking it to me.  But they would just be sticking it to you.  Your health insurance is not something to play politics with.  Our economy is not something to play politics with," he said.

奥巴马总统指责共和党人将党派之争挡在美国人的医疗保健需求之前。“很多共和党人似乎认为,如果他们能把事情搞砸,让这项法律失败,他们就可以会以某种方式使我脱不了干系。但他们这样做就是在对待你们。你们的医疗保险不是弄权。我们的经济不是弄权,”他说道。

The success or failure of Obamacare could shape the president’s legacy¹⁰ long after he leaves office. 

奥巴马医改的成功与否可能会关乎总统在离任后为世人所留下的遗产。

1 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

2 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。

3 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

7 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

8 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。

9 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。