欧美名人演讲 第24期:奥巴马最后一次国情咨文(5)

 　　What is true and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious is that the economy has been changing in profound¹ ways, changes that started long before the Great Recession² hit and changes that have not let up.

　　实际情况——同时也是许多美国人感到焦虑的原因——是美国经济正在经历巨大变革，而且这变革早在大萧条发生之前就已经开始，到现在还没有结束。

　　Today, technology doesn't just replace jobs on the assembly line, but any job where work can be automated³.

　　今天，能够被高科技取代的工作岗位并不仅限于生产线，还包括任何可以实现自动化的岗位。

　　Companies in a global economy can locate anywhere, and face tougher competition.

　　在经济全球化中，公司可以落户于世界任何地方，也会面临更加激烈的竞争。

　　As a result, workers have less leverage⁴ for a raise.

　　其结果是，雇员要求加薪的筹码变少。

　　Companies have less loyalty⁵ to their communities.

　　公司对其所在群体的忠诚度更低。

　　And more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top.

　　同时，越来越多的财富和收入积聚到社会顶层阶级手中。

　　All these trends have squeezed workers, even when they have jobs; even when the economy is growing.

　　这些变化趋势挤压了雇员的生存空间，即使他们拥有工作，即使美国经济一直在增长。

　　It's made it harder for a hardworking family to pull itself out of poverty, harder for young people to start on their careers, and tougher for workers to retire when they want to.

　　工薪家庭想要通过努力工作，摆脱贫困，年轻人想要开创自己的事业，雇员想要适时退休，都已经不太容易。

　　And although none of these trends are unique to America, they do offend our uniquely American belief that everybody who works hard should get a fair shot.

　　虽然面临这些变革的不只有美国，但是这些的确违背了独有的美国式信念，那就是，任何努力工作的人都应当得到公平待遇。

　　For the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that also works better for everybody.

　　在过去的七年中，我们的目标一直都是，保持经济增长，以造福每一个人。

　　We've made progress. But we need to make more.

　　我们已经取得了一些进步。但是，我们需要继续努力。

　　And despite all the political arguments we've had these past few years, there are some areas where Americans broadly agree.

　　尽管在过去的一些年中，我们有过许多政治上的争论，但是在一些领域，我们取得了普遍的共识。

　　We agree that real opportunity requires every American to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job.

　　我们一致认为，真正的机会在于每一个美国人都能获得能够必要的教育及培训，让他们能够胜任一份收入理想的工作。

1 profound   

adj.深奥的，造诣深的；深度的，极度的

参考例句：

• I give you my profound thanks for saving my life.我对您的救命之恩深表谢意。
• He has a profound knowledge of mathematics.他数学知识渊博。

2 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

3 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

4 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。