欧美名人演讲 第27期:奥巴马最后一次国情咨文(8)

 　　America is about giving everybody willing to work a chance, a hand up, and I'd welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers who don't have children.

　　美国是一个会给每个愿意工作的人机会的国家，我欢迎大家提出可行性战略，如为无子女低收入人群减税的方案。

　　But there are some areas where we just have to be honest, it's been more difficult to find agreement over the last seven years.

　　但在过去七年里还有其他难以达成一致的领域。

　　And a lot of them fall under the category of what role the government should play in making sure the system's not rigged in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations.

　　比如，政府应该扮演怎样的角色，才能保证制度不向最富有的财团和大公司倾斜。

　　It's an honest disagreement. And the American people have a choice to make.

　　这是确实是个分歧。在此，美国人民需要做出选择。

　　I believe a thriving private sector¹ is the lifeblood of our economy.

　　蓬勃发展的私营经济是我们国家经济的命脉。

　　I think there are outdated² regulations that need to be changed, and there's red tape that needs to be cut.

　　我认为，其有些过时的规则需要改变，有些繁文缛节需要摒弃。

　　But after years of record corporate³ profits, working families won't get more opportunity or bigger paychecks just by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at everybody else's expense.

　　在企业连续多年利润破纪录之后，如果让大银行、石油巨头或对冲基金制定只对自己有利的规则。

　　Middle-class families are not going to feel more secure because we allow attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered.

　　或者允许对集体谈判的攻击置之不理，工薪阶层就无法获得更多机会和更多薪水。

　　Food Stamp recipients⁴ didn't cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did.

　　引发经济危机的不是那些领食物券的人，而是华尔街那些鲁莽行事的人。

　　Immigrants aren't the principal reason wages haven't gone up; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that all too often put quarterly earnings⁵ over long-term returns.

　　移民人口不是阻碍薪酬上涨的原因；那些决议是由董事会的人提出的，他们经常将季度分红看得比长期回报还重。

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。