奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统呼吁给予工薪家庭带薪病假的福利（01）

There are a couple different stories you can tell about our economy.

关于我们的经济,你可以说出截然不同的故事。

One goes like this. Eight years after the worst economic crisis¹ of our lifetimes,

一个就像这样。我们生命中最严重的经济危机8年之后,

our economy has created jobs for 71 straight months.

我们的经济已经连续71个月创造着就业岗位。

That's a new record. Unemployment has fallen below five percent.

这是一个新记录。失业率已经下降到5%以下。

Last year, the typical household saw its income grow by about twenty-eight hundred dollars – the biggest one-year increase ever.

去年,最普遍的家庭都可以看到,他们的收入增长了近2800美元--这是有史以来一年中最大的增长量。

And the uninsured rate is at an all-time low.

未购买保险率也是一直以来的最低水平。

All that is true. What's also true is that too much of our wealth is still taken by the top

所有这些都是事实。同样是事实的是,我们太多的财富仍然被最富有的人所占有

and that leaves too many families still working paycheck to paycheck, without a lot of breathing room.

但是这让太多的家庭会一直为了挣支票而挣支票,没有一点儿喘息的空间。

There are two things we can do about this.

关于这些,我们有两件事情可以去做。

We can prey² on people's worries for political gain.

我们可以为了政治收益而让人们担忧,

Or we can actually do something to help working families feel more secure³ in today's economy.

或者实际上我们可以做些事情,帮助工薪阶层在当下的经济中获得更多的安全感。

Count me in the latter camp.

我算后一种人。

And here's one thing that will help right away: making sure more of our families have access to paid leave.

当下有一件事情可以起作用:确保我们更多的家庭拥有带薪病假的福利。

Today, having both parents in the workforce⁴ is an economic necessity⁵ for many families.

今天,对众多家庭来说,父母双方都上班,在经济上是必要的。

But right now, millions of Americans don't have access to even a single day of paid sick leave.

但当下,数百万人没有机会获得甚至是一天带薪病假的福利。

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

4 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。

5 necessity   

n.必要性，需要；必需品

参考例句：

• I look upon this as an absolute necessity.我认为这是绝对必要的。
• You must understand the necessity of education.你必须懂得教育的必要性。