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(单词翻译)
By Paula Wolfson
Washington
05 April 2006
President Bush is continuing to pressure the U.S. Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Prospects1 for quick action in the Senate are not good.
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George Bush a makes statement on immigration, April 5, 2006
After an early morning meeting with congressional leaders, the president made a statement to White House reporters on immigration reform.
"This is a vital debate. I thank the members who are working hard to get a bill done," he said. "I strongly urge them to come to a conclusion as quickly as possible and pass a comprehensive bill."
The president's comments on pending2 legislation highlighted the difficulties lawmakers are having coming to terms on this controversial issue.
Debate in the Senate has been beset3 with parliamentary roadblocks, bringing work on the bill to a virtual standstill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has set a Friday deadline for senators to complete their version of immigration reform legislation. But there are indications that deadline may not be met.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter predicts senators will head off on a holiday break this week still deadlocked4 on how best to reform the nation's immigration laws. He spoke5 with frustration6 Wednesday after another round of procedural wrangling7 in the Senate chamber8.
"The technical rules have brought us to an absolute impasse9 again, and so again we have another day wasted," he said.
Patrick Leahy is the senior Democrat10 on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He too complained about the lack of progress, and suggested the Republicans are to blame.
"Let us go back to having a Senate that will debate issues, and get away from the polemics," he said.
There is agreement in Congress that something must be done to tackle the problem of illegal immigration. But with more than 11 million undocumented immigrants now in the United States, there are deep differences on approach.
An immigration reform bill passed last December in the House of Representatives focused solely11 on border security and enforcement. Immigration advocates, who have been staging demonstrations12 in cities across the country, hope the Senate will moderate the House bill and add steps that permit illegal immigrants to get temporary guest worker status.
1 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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2 pending | |
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的 | |
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3 beset | |
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围 | |
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4 deadlocked | |
陷入僵局的;僵持不下的 | |
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5 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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6 frustration | |
n.挫折,失败,失效,落空 | |
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7 wrangling | |
v.争吵,争论,口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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8 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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9 impasse | |
n.僵局;死路 | |
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10 democrat | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员 | |
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11 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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12 demonstrations | |
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威 | |
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