VOA标准英语2013--政府关门后议长博纳压力山大

 

Shutdown Fuels Economic Concerns as Pressure Mounts on Boehner 政府关门后议长博纳压力山大

WASHINGTON — The continued budget impasse¹ between Republicans and Democrats² in the U.S. Congress is raising concerns that the rival parties may fail to agree on raising the U.S. debt ceiling by mid-October, which could cause the government to default on its debts.  Both the U.S. Treasury³ and the IMF have called on lawmakers to end the budget crisis as soon possible to avert⁴ possible damage to the global economy.

Polls show a growing number of Americans blame the Republican Party for the government shutdown.  In recent days, the spotlight⁵ has focused mostly on one lawmaker: House Republican Majority Leader John Boehner.  As Speaker of the House, he has blocked a vote on a temporary budget measure that would keep spending at current levels. There is support for such a measure among all Democrats and some Republicans.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined the chorus of Boehner critics on Thursday while speaking to a group of construction workers in a Washington suburb. 

"There are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives today that if the Speaker of the House John Boehner simply let the bill get on the floor for an up or down vote, every congressman⁶ could vote their conscience, the shutdown would end today," said Obama.

Boehner has so far refused to allow a vote on temporary funding that could return 800,000 federal employees from a current furlough. Political pundits⁷ cite two reasons this has not yet happened, despite a large majority of Americans disapproving⁸ of the shutdown. One is that Boehner would lose the support of his conservative caucus⁹ and, perhaps, his position as Speaker. The other is that he would lose clout¹⁰ in bargaining with Democrats on a new U.S. budget. 

Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized the Democrat-led Senate for rejecting the idea of continuing to fund some agencies and programs, such as cancer treatment for children at the National Institute for Health.

On Thursday, a group of Republicans sought to draw attention to the hardship that a lack of funding for that program will cause. Renee Ellmers, a North Carolina Republican and a former nurse, spoke¹¹ passionately¹² on behalf of children with cancer and their families.

"If you've ever seen the looks on a parent's face when they are told that their child has cancer and then you take their hope away, the moment that they know that they can fight for it, they will," said Ellmers. 

According to one estimate by Massachusetts-based IHS Inc., the shutdown of the federal government will cost at least $300 million a day in lost economic output. Those losses could still increase.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned on Thursday that the U.S. budget crisis could also hurt the global economy.

"The ongoing¹³ political uncertainty¹⁴ over the budget, over the debt ceiling, does not help. The government shutdown is bad enough. But failure to raise the debt ceiling would be far worse and could very seriously damage not only the US economy, but also the entire global economy," said Lagarde.

The United States must raise its debt ceiling by October 17 to avoid the possibility of defaulting on its debts. 

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

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 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

8 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

10 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

11 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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。