VOA慢速英语2013 政府提高债务上限,交易市场重开

 

 

Deal Reopens Government, Extends Debt Limit 政府提高债务上限,交易市场重开

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

Late Wednesday night, the United States Congress approved a deal to end a partial government shutdown. The deal also increases the nation’s debt limit. President Obama signed the bill into law shortly after midnight. The shutdown lasted 16 days and affected¹ hundreds of thousands of federal employees. It was the first shutdown in 17 years.

However, the deal to reopen the government will only pay for operations through January 15. And it only extends the debt limit until February 7. Extending the debt limit will let the government borrow enough money to pay for programs already approved by Congress.

The Treasury² Department said the limit needed to rise by October 17 so that the United States could borrow enough money to pay all its bills.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced the results of the vote in the House of Representatives.

“On this vote the yeas are 285, the nays³ are 144, the motion is adopted.”

The pressure had been on House Speaker John Boehner. Earlier in the day, Mr. Boehner talked about what Republicans had been seeking. He spoke⁴ to radio station WLW in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

“We have been locked in a fight over here, trying to bring government down to size, trying to do our best to stop Obamacare. We fought the good fight, we just did not win.”

The shutdown began October 1 after House Republicans linked passage of a spending bill to an effort to block the health care law.

Republicans hold the majority in the 435-member House. But the bill passed mostly with the votes of Democrats⁵. Fewer than 90 Republicans voted for the bill. And none of their leaders came to the House floor to speak in the final debate. Democrats supported the bill after Speaker Boehner agreed to allow a vote without changing Obamacare.

Earlier the Senate passed the same bill by a vote of 81 to 18, with strong support from Democrats and Republicans.

Hours after signing the bill into law, President Obama noted⁶ “there are no winners here.”

“The last few weeks have inflicted⁷ completely, unnecessary damage on our economy. We don't know yet the full scope of the damage, but every analyst⁸ out there believes it slowed our growth. We know that families have gone without paychecks or services they depend on. We know that potential home buyers have gotten fewer mortgages and small business loans have been put on hold. We know that consumers have cut back on spending and that half of all CEOs say that the shutdown and the threat of shutdown set back their plans to hire over the next six months.”

Congress agreed to pay government workers for the time away from their jobs. But economists⁹ say some businesses affected by the shutdown will not be able to recover their losses. For example, the shutdown closed national parks. That cost nearby businesses when people canceled park visits.

As part of the deal, House and Senate leaders have appointed a joint¹⁰ budget committee to negotiate a compromise spending plan. The goal is to reach an agreement by December 13.

President Obama says, “We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis.” He says with the shutdown over, attention should now turn to long-term budget concerns and issues like passing an immigration reform bill.

And that’s In the News from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

 

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 nays   

n.反对票，投反对票者( nay的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tally was two ayes and three nays. 投票结果是两票赞成，三票反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tally was three yeas and two nays, so the yeas have it. 投票结果是三票赞成两票反对，投赞成票者胜利。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 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》

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 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》

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。