VOA常速英语2013--经济危机五年后奥巴马称前路还长

 

Five Years After Financial Meltdown, Obama Says More Work Ahead 经济危机五年后奥巴马称前路还长

WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama has marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S. financial crisis. He claims credit for major progress in the recovery from near collapse¹ five years ago, but says more work lies ahead.

An economy shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs, banks saddled with worthless subprime mortages, millions losing their homes, and an auto² industry near collapse -- It was a downward spiral that began on September 15, 2008 with the bankruptcy³ and collapse of Lehman Brothers, followed by bailouts for other financial firms considered too big to fail.

成千上万人失去工作，银行背负毫无价值的次级贷款，数百万人失去房屋，汽车业面临破产，这就是2008年9月15日雷曼兄弟破产倒闭后的恶性循环，随后是那些太大而不能倒闭的金融机构开始申请纾困资金。

And that led to the worst recession since the Great Depression.

这就导致了大萧条以来的最大衰退。

When Obama took office in January 2009, the financial system itself was near collapse.

奥巴马2009年1月上任时，金融体系几近崩溃。

He spent much of his first term implementing⁴ a stimulus⁵ passed by Congress and bailing⁶ out the struggling auto industry. On Monday, he reviewed the past.

他第一个任期的大多数时间都用来实施国会通过的刺激政策，并给苦苦挣扎的汽车业提供援助。周一，奥巴马回顾了过去。

"We put people to work repairing roads and bridges, to keep teachers in our classrooms, our first responders on the streets," he said. "We helped responsible homeowners modify their mortgages so more of them could keep their homes. We helped jump-start the flow of credit to help more small businesses keep their doors open. We saved the American auto industry.

“我们让人们回去工作，修建道路和桥梁，让教师们继续呆在教室里，让现场急救员呆在大街上。我们帮助负责任的房主修改房屋贷款，这样大多数都能继续持有房屋。我们使得信贷流通起来，帮助更多小企业继续经营，我们拯救了美国汽车业。”

Other steps included cutting middle class and small business taxes, financial system reform, and establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

其他的措施还有，削减中产阶级和小企业的税收，金融体系改革，建立消费者金融保护局。

But the U.S. economy continues to face challenges. 

但美国经济还将继续面临挑战。

Obama pointed⁷ to a growing income gap.

奥巴马指出存在越来越大的收入差距。

"Even though businesses are creating new jobs, and have broken record profits, the top one percent of Americans took home 20 percent of the nation's income last year, while the average worker isn't seeing a raise at all," he said. "In fact, that understates the problem. Most of the gains have gone to the top one tenth of one percent.

“尽管各企业正在创造新的就业机会，并创下了前所未有的利润，去年，最顶端的1%的美国人拿走了全国收入的20%，而普通工人的收入却根本没有提高。事实上问题更严重，大多数收入都流到1%中最顶端的十分之一的人那里。”

Republican opponents in Congress rejected much of the president’s proposals for new stimulus and tax reform.

国会里的共和党反对派否定总统有关新刺激政策和税改的提议。

The negative political atmosphere in Washington, with a divided Congress, promises more conflict.

在国会存在分歧的情况下，华盛顿消极的政治气氛也意味着更多的冲突。

Republicans are threatening to defund Obama's signature healthcare law which could trigger a government shutdown, and a new battle looms⁸ over raising the government’s debt limit, something Obama says is non-negotiable. He claims the Republicans’ budget priorities would place the economy at risk.

共和党威胁要不给奥巴马的医改法提供资金，这可能会导致政府关门，同时围绕着提高政府债务限制又产生新的争执，而奥巴马称债务限制提高是无可商议的。他说共和党的财政预算政策会将经济置于危险之地。

He said, "Are some of these folks really so beholden to one extreme wing of their party that they are willing to tank the entire economy, just because they can't get their way on this issue? Are they really willing to hurt people just to score political points?

他说，“是否有因为本党中的极端人士无法在这个问题上随心所欲，其他的人就有义务去破坏整个经济吗？还是他们只是为了获得政绩而损害人民呢？”

The government runs out of spending authority on September 30. Obama will continue his focus on the economy. Congress will spend the next two weeks trying to hammer out a new budget.

政府将于9月30日用完财务开支授权，奥巴马将继续把重点放在经济上。国会将在未来两周努力敲定新预算。

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

4 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》