2006年VOA标准英语-Bush, Pelosi Say They Want to Work Together

By Scott Stearns
White House
09 November 2006

U.S. President George Bush and leaders of the opposition¹ Democratic Party say they will work together. Their comments came after the latest election results showed Democrats² have won control of Congress in this week's election.

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		President Bush and Nancy Pelosi at the White House

President Bush says voters expect politicians to rise above their partisan³ differences. So he invited House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to lunch at the White House.

"The elections are now behind us," said President Bush. "And the Congresswoman's party won. But the challenges still remain, and therefore we are going to work together to address those challenges in a constructive⁴ way. We will not agree on every issue, but we do agree that we love America equally, that we are concerned about the future of this country, and that we will do our very best to address big problems."

The president said he had a constructive and very friendly meeting with Pelosi, who is expected to become the first woman chosen by her party to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Pelosi said their talks were productive and signaled the start of a partnership⁵ to solve the nation's problems.

"I look forward to working in a confidence-building way with the president, recognizing that we have our differences, and we will debate them, and that is what our founders⁶ intended," she said. "But we will do so in a way that gets results for the American people."

Pelosi says she understands the responsibilities of serving as Speaker of all the House, not just its Democratic members. Having made history, she says it is now time to make progress.

Before Democrats take charge of the House in January, President Bush says, there is much work to be done in the existing Congress, including action on spending bills, terrorist surveillance, and alternative energy.

He is also calling on lawmakers to complete work on the Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and a deal sharing civilian⁷ nuclear technology with India.

But the biggest challenge remains⁸ the fight against terrorism and what the president says is the central front in that fight: Iraq.

"Our country now has more than 149,000 men and women serving bravely in that country," he said. "Whatever party we come from, we all have a responsibility to make sure that these troops have the resources and support they need to prevail. I am open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds."

Iraq was a central issue in this election. Public opinion polls say a majority of Americans now believe the president's use of U.S. troops to topple Saddam Hussein was a mistake.

1 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。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。