VOA常速英语2013--美国国会应对利害攸关的预算之争

 

US Congress Braces¹ for High Stakes Budget Battle 美国国会应对利害攸关的预算之争

CAPITOL HILL — As accusations² fly between the two major political parties, Congress and the White House are headed to the latest in a series of showdowns that have nearly resulted in the partial shut down of the government.  This time it might happen, as two ideologies³ collide just as spending authorization⁴ runs out. 

Analysts⁵ say such repetitive brinkmanship would be unlikely in other democracies around the world. 

House Republicans celebrated⁷, on Friday, their government spending measure crippling the president's health care law.

众议院的共和党人开始了庆祝,周五,他们的政府开销措施让总统的医疗法案无力回天。

Furious House Democrats⁸ are now accusing Republicans of threatening to close down the government rather than give in. 

咆哮着的众议院民主党人现在并非屈服，而是指责共和党对于关闭政府的威胁。

"This place is a mess.  Let's get our house in order," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

“真是有够混乱。让这里再次井然有序起来吧。”众议院少数党领袖代表南希·佩洛西说道。

At the heart of the battle is a clash over the role of government. The Tea Party, an anti-big government faction⁹ of the Republican Party,  emerged four years ago to oppose the president's signature reform of the health care system.

在这场争斗的核心是政府角色的冲突。共和党反对大政府派系之一的茶党四年前出现反对总统签字的医疗改革系统。

After Obama pushed through health insurance reform to provide health coverage¹⁰ to millions,  

这是在奥巴马总统推行医疗保险改革为数以百万计人民提供医保之后,

Republicans took back the U.S. House with a core of about 30 Tea Party-oriented members who say they are willing to take risks for their convictions.   

而共和党人凭借核心为大约30名的茶党代表成员夺取了美国的众议院,而这些政党成员们表示愿意为信仰承担风险。

 "This is in many ways a takeover of the Republican Party by an extreme faction that did not really exist 10 years ago," said budget expert Stan Collender.  

“这是10年前真的并不存在许多方面通过极端派别共和党的接管,”预算专家斯坦·柯林德说道。

Tea Party members are carrying out the wishes of voters in their districts by taking Congress to the brink⁶, says Steve Bittle of George Washington University.

茶党成员们正在通过将国会置于边缘在自己的选区进行民选,乔治华盛顿大学的史蒂夫·比特尔说道。

"Many of the more rebellious¹¹ members, these Tea Party members, come from districts that have very solid Republican majorities," he said.  "They are really not worried about a challenge from the Democrats. They are worried about a challenge from the right-wing of their party."

“这些茶党成员中许多更为叛逆的成员来自有很坚实共和党多数派的地区,”他说道。“他们真的不担心来自民主党的挑战。他们担心的是来自右翼党派的挑战。

At a luncheon¹² for conservatives, Republican Raul Labrador blamed the threat of a shutdown on Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry¹³ Reid and President Obama.

在一次保守派的午餐会上,共和党人劳尔·拉布拉多指责民主党参议院多数党领袖哈里·里德和奥巴马总统关闭的威胁。

"And if Harry Reid and the President want to shut down the government because all we are asking for is a simple delay of Obamacare, then I hope you write the story that way, and not in the way that we are the ones who are at fault," he said.

“如果哈里·里德和总统因为我们所有人要求的是一次简单奥巴马医改的延迟而关闭政府,那么我希望你写故事用这种方式,而不是以我们有过错的方式。”他说道。

Republican Representative Mark Meadows says Americans shouldn't worry.

共和党议员马克·麦多斯表示美国人不应担心。

"We have had 17, 17 government shutdowns, in our history.  And all of those were partial shutdowns," he said. "The longest one was 21 days.  No one ever didn't get paid ..."

“在我们的历史上有17个,17个政府关闭。而所有那些是部分关闭,”他说道。“最长的一个是21天。没人得到报酬…

Asked if other democracies could have showdowns on routine funding bills, analysts say it's hard to imagine.

当问及其他民主是否可能的常规的资金提案时,分析家表示几乎难以想象。。

"In parliamentary systems, a situation like this probably would have ended up in a call for new elections, maybe a vote of no confidence in the prime minister," Stan Collender said.

“在议会制系统中,像这种局面可能会最终以呼吁新的选举告终,也许是对于总理的不信任投票。”斯坦·柯林德说道

"The next act in the drama will be in the Senate, where all eyes are focused on Majority Leader Harry Reid to see what he does with the House bill.  He has already said the Senate will not pass a bill that defunds the health care law. 

“这场大剧接下来将会在参议院上演,所有的目光都聚焦在多数党领袖里德身上，看他对于众议院的法案能做出什么。他已经表示参议院不会通过一项抽回医改资金的法案。

1 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

4 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 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》

9 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

12 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。