U.S. President George Bush and opposition Democrats are both paying tribute to America's armed forces, as part of the celebration of the nation's 232nd anniversary.
在美国庆祝建国232周年之际，美国总统布什和反对党民主党都向美国军人表达敬意。
On this Independence Day weekend, President Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to thank the people who serve in the U.S. armed forces.
在这个独立日周末，布什总统在他每周例行的广播讲话中对美国军人表示感谢。
"In places like Afghanistan and Iraq, many risk their lives every day to protect America and uphold the principle that human freedom is the birthright of all people and a gift from the Almighty," the president said. "These brave Americans make it possible for America to endure as a free society."
他说：“在像阿富汗和伊拉克这样的地方，许多军人每天用自己的生命保护美国，并且捍卫‘自由为每个人与生俱来的权利，乃上天的赋予之物’的原则。这些勇敢的美国军人使美国可以作为一个自由社会而屹立不倒。”
As part of his tribute, Mr. Bush recalled the words written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.
布什在他赞扬美国军人时提到了杰斐逊在《独立宣言》中写的话。
"Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our Founding Fathers came together in Philadelphia to proclaim that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," he said.
他说：“232年前，我们的开国之父们聚集在费城，宣布所有人生来平等，并被造物主赋予了生存、自由和追求幸福的不可剥夺的权利。”
In the Democratic Party response, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois also used the writings of the Founding Fathers to salute the armed forces. He quoted from a letter written by John Adams to his wife Abigail.
在民主党对总统广播讲话的回应中，伊利诺伊州参议员德宾也用开国之父的辞句向军人致意。
"He wrote, 'Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom.' 'I hope,' he added, 'you will make good use of it,'" Senator Durbin said. "On this Fourth of July weekend, as we celebrate our nation's independence, we can be proud that the generations of Americans who followed John Adams have preserved and expanded our heritage of freedom. Today, women and African-Americans can not only vote for president, they can run for president. That is progress that would have astonished John, maybe even Abigail, Adams."
他引用约翰.亚当斯写给他的妻子艾比盖尔的一封信中的话说：“约翰.亚当斯写道，‘孩子们，你们永远不会知道我们这代人为了保护你们的自由付出了怎样的代价。’他还写道，‘我希望你们能好好利用你们的自由。’ “在7月4号独立日周末，在我们庆祝美国国庆的时候，我们可以自豪地说，约翰.亚当斯之后的几代美国人保护并发扬了我们所继承的自由。今天，妇女和非洲裔美国人不仅可以投票选举总统，还可以参加总统竞选。这一进步可能令约翰.亚当斯夫妇感到震惊。”
On another topic, Durbin criticized the Republican minority in the U.S. Senate, saying it has held up progress on numerous issues.
而在另一个问题上，德宾对在参议院占少数派的共和党提出批评说，共和党阻碍了很多问题的进展。
"They have now shattered the record for the highest number of filibusters in history," he said. "Filibusters, of course, are the age-old procedural obstacles used to slow down or stop the Senate from debating and voting. Now, before this Congress, the record was 57 filibusters in a two-year period of time. This Republican leadership has waged 78 filibusters, and we still have six months to go."
他说：“共和党已经打破了在议会中使用拖延阻挠手段的历史最高记录。以冗长演说妨碍议程固然是陈规陋习，用来拖延和阻挡参议院对议案进行辩论或表决。在本届国会之前，最高记录是两年之内有57次应用这种手段。而这届参议院上台才一年半，共和党领导层已经应用了78次。”
Durbin also called on Republicans to support a bill to prevent a cut in federal health care payments to doctors.
德宾还呼吁共和党支持一项防止联邦政府减少向医生支付医疗费的议案。 |