奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统呼吁将美国打造的更为安全

Happy New Year, everybody.I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us.That's because of what we've accomplished¹ together over the past seven.
大家新年快乐！我满怀期待的心情迎接我们共同的新年。因为过去七年里我们共同取得了巨大的成就。
Seven years ago, our businesses were losing 800,000 jobs a month.They've now created jobs for 69 straight months, driving the unemployment rate from a high of 10% down to 5%.
七年前，我们的企业一个月就有80万人失业。而今，他们已经连续69个月实现就业增长，将失业率从最高的10%降低到5%。
Seven years ago, too many Americans went without health insurance.We've now covered more than 17 million people, dropping the rate of the uninsured below 10% for the very first time.
七年前，大量的美国人没有医疗保险。而今，我们的保险覆盖了1700多万人，使得未参保率第一次下降到10%以下。
Seven years ago, we were addicted² to foreign oil.Now our oil imports have plummeted³, our clean energy industry is booming, and America is a global leader in the fight against climate change.
七年前，我们严重依赖海外石油。而今，我们的石油进口量直线下降，清洁能源产业欣欣向荣，美国已经成为全球抗击气候变化的领导者。
Seven years ago, there were only two states in America with marriage equality.And now there are 50.
七年前，全国只有两个州承认同性婚姻合法，而今50个州都认可了。
All of this progress is because of you.And we've got so much more to do.So my New Year's resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business as much as I can.And I'll be more frequently asking for your help.That's what this American project is all about.
所有这些成绩的取得都离不开大家的付出。当然我们还有更多的事情要做。因此，我的新年愿景就是继续奋勇前行，尽我所能完成未竟的事业。我将经常性地寻求大家的帮助。因为这是关系到所有美国人民的事业。
That's especially true for one piece of unfinished business, that's our epidemic⁴ of gun violence.
对于这样一件事而言尤为如此，那就是当前枪支暴力泛滥的问题。
Last month, we remembered the third anniversary of Newtown.This Friday, I'll be thinking about my friend Gabby Giffords, five years into her recovery from the shooting in Tucson.And all across America, survivors⁵ of gun violence and those who lost a child, a parent, a spouse⁶ to gun violence are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day.
上个月，我们还举行了新城惨案三周年纪念活动。本周五，我也会去看望嘉碧·吉福兹，她度过了图森惨案后五年时间的漫长恢复期。全美各地的枪支暴力案件的幸存者以及那些在枪支暴力事件中失去孩子、父母、配偶的人们，每一天，都不得不面对这种持续的痛苦。
And yet Congress still hasn't done anything to prevent what happened to them from happening to other families.Three years ago, a bipartisan, commonsense⁷ bill would have required background checks for virtually everyone who buys a gun.Keep in mind, this policy was supported by some 90% of the American people.It was supported by a majority of NRA households.But the gun lobby mobilized against it.And the Senate blocked it.
而现在国会却依然无动于衷，没有做出任何行动来防止此类事件发生在其他家庭身上。三年前，一份两党联合的基本法案本来要求对几乎所有枪支购买人员进行背景审查的。请大家记住，这份法案当时得到了90%的美国民众的支持，而且也得到了美国步枪协会大部分会员的支持。但是，枪支游说团体强烈反对。最后在参议院未获通过。
Since then, tens of thousands of our fellow Americans have been mowed⁸ down by gun violence.Tens of thousands.Each time, we're told that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre⁹, or the one before that, so we shouldn't do anything.
自那时起，成千上万的美国同胞因枪支暴力惨遭杀害。成千上万的人啊。而每一次事件之后，他们总是会说，背景审查之类的普通改革并不一定能阻止这种屠杀事件的发生，也阻止不了以前的事件发生，因此，我们也不必要做任何事情。
We know that we can't stop every act of violence.But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something-anything-to protect our kids from gun violence?
我们都知道，我们是不能阻止每一起暴力事件。但哪怕我们能成功阻止一件呢？哪怕国会做点什么，保护我们的孩子免受枪支暴力威胁，做什么都行。
A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence.And on Monday, I'll meet with our Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options.Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing.I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen; who share my belief that the Second Amendment¹⁰ guarantees a right to bear arms; and who share my belief we can protect that right while keeping an irresponsible, dangerous few from inflicting¹¹ harm on a massive scale.
几个月前，我指示白宫的团队去研究，看看可以采用什么新的策略来降低枪支暴力的威胁。下周一，我将会见司法部长洛丽塔·林奇，与她讨论我们的方案。因为，我收到了大量的来信，有父母写的，老师写的，孩子写的，我不能坐视不管。我还收到一些有责任心的拥有枪支的人们的来信，他们说每次的惨案发生他们都深感悲痛。他们有着与我同样的信念，《第二修正案》确保大家有权拥有武器，但同时他们也坚信，我们可以让不负责任、危险的极少数人不能再继续制造屠杀制造杀害，同时保护大家享有这一权利。

1 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

2 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

3 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

7 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

8 mowed   

v.刈，割( mow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敌人被机枪的火力扫倒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人们割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播种。 来自辞典例句

9 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。