美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-09-12

 　　First up, we`re reporting on a wave ofviolence across the Middle Eastern nation of Iraq yesterday. Officials say atleast 62 people were killed and almost 200 others were wounded in theseattacks, and many of them seemed to be aimed at members of Iraq`s military andpolice forces. In this one, a car bomb and a roadside bomb targeted Iraqisecurity forces. These kinds of explosive devices caused a lot of violence onSunday. Car bombs on a busy street in the Iraqi city of Amarra, another in anoutdoor market in Basra. In Tikrit, gunmen targeted an army checkpoint at amilitary base.The violence in Iraq has decreased from what it was during thewar, but it has been getting worse in recent months.

　　After losing 800,000 jobs a month when I took office, businesses added jobs forthe 30th month in a row. We`ve added more than 4.6 million jobs.But we knowthat that`s not good enough. We can do better. We need to create jobs evenfaster.

　　There were four times as many people whodropped out of the workforce¹ as the net new jobs created under this president.And it`s not just a one-month figure. The White House has I think now for 31straight months said, well, just don`t look at the monthly numbers, monthlynumbers aren`t that critical. Well, if you take 30 months and put themtogether, that`s pretty critical.

　　The latest U.S. jobs numbers being discussed on the campaign trail. The reportfor August came out on Friday, and it wasn`t good. The Labor² Department says96,000 jobs were added in August. Now, that might sound like good news, but atleast 150,000 jobs need to be added each month just to keep up with the growingU.S. population. The August numbers were lower than economists³ expected, and asharp decrease from the month before. Also, the unemployment rate, it went downfrom 8.3 percent in July to 8.1 percent in August, but that was because moreAmericans quit looking for work. In fact, for every person who found a job,almost 4 people gave up looking for one.

　　You just recently wrapped up your summer vacations and so did the U.S.Congress. Yesterday, lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives gotback to work after a five-week recess⁴. They are facing a lot of issues, andthey`re facing some questions about how much they can get done. Athena Jonesgives us a preview of this congressional session.

　　As election season enters the home stretch, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hillthis week, facing big issues. But given their recent of accomplishment⁵ or lackthereof, the question is whether any of it will get done.

　　The voters want to know when Congress is going to stop kicking the can down theroad. I mean, they are sort of out of road.

　　The only must-pass item is a short-term measure to keep the government runningand avoid the kind of costly⁶ shutdowns we saw twice in the 1900s. It`s expectedto pass. Congress could also pass measures to help people hit hard by thedrought and by Hurricane Isaac. But perhaps the biggest challenge -- theso-called fiscal⁷ cliff. A series of tax increases and spending cuts thatexperts warn taken together could plunge⁸ the economy back into a recession.

　　They`ll have about four weeks after the election to deal with some of thelargest tax increases and spending cuts that the country has ever seen at onetime.

　　$110 billion in cuts to everything from defense⁹ to education to foodinspections next year alone, will take effect in January unless lawmakers reachagreement on reducing the deficit¹⁰.One problem -- Republicans and Democratsdisagree on the Bush tax cuts due to expire at the end of this year.Republicans want them extended for everyone.

　　Americans know what works. Low taxes, reasonable regulations, and living withinour means.

　　Democrats¹¹, led by President Obama, support extending them just for peoplemaking less than $200,000 a year.

　　I don`t believe and you don`t believe that another round of tax breaks formillionaires is going to bring good jobs back to our shores or pay down ourdeficit.

　　Uncertainty¹² about just what Congress will do is already weighing on theeconomy.

　　It`s just going to be a very bumpy¹³ ride. Businesses are slower to hire,government agencies are slower to give out contracts. So it is sort of creepinginto the economy now, and that will just get worse the longer Congress waits todeal with this.

　　But wait is what Congress is almost certain to do. Both parties are hoping theelection in November will put them in a better negotiating position. Whetherthat will bring them closer to a deal is anybody`s guess.

　　Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

5 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

8 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 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》

12 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。

13 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。