VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Tackles Ambitious Agenda During First 100

President Barack Obama has now reached the halfway¹ mark in his first 100 days in office, a traditional benchmark when new presidents are evaluated on their progress. Mr. Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda that has focused on reviving the weak U.S. economy. But, some critics and experts wonder if the president is trying to do too much too soon.
　
President Barack Obama, 11 Mar² 2009

From the very start, beginning with his Inaugural³ Address, Barack Obama promised an ambitious presidency⁴.

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," he said. "They are serious and many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America, they will be met."

His first and most important priority was dealing⁵ with the weak U.S. economy.

But Mr. Obama also moved quickly to begin the process of reining⁶ in the cost of health care while at the same time expanding coverage⁷ to the uninsured. The new president has also promised to reform education and move the country toward energy independence.

For some critics like Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, it is just too ambitious.

"Presidents have many problems to solve," he said. "But no one ever suggested that the wisest course is to try to solve them all at once."

But in marking his first 50 days in office, Mr. Obama gave no indication that he intends to back away from his agenda.

"I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time," he said. "We do not have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term."

Like presidents before him, Mr. Obama's performance is being measured against that of President Franklin Roosevelt, who came into the White House in the midst of the Great Depression in 1933.

"It comes from the first 100 days of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency," said Jeremy Mayer, a presidential expert at George Mason University in Virginia. "He was inaugurated on March 4th, 1933, back when we inaugurated presidents in March instead of January, and it was a whirlwind of activity. Never has so much been done for so many in such a little amount of time."

President Roosevelt set out to tackle a lengthy⁸ list of problems right when he took office, from failing banks to an unemployment rate of about 25 percent. Despite Roosevelt's frenetic first 100 days, it took years for the economy to turn around.

Of course, President Obama is hoping for a much quicker economic turnaround during his tenure⁹ in office.

Mr. Obama can point to one major achievement while in office, passage of a massive economic-stimulus¹⁰ bill.

Jeremy Mayer says it is a noteworthy achievement.

"Divorced from whether it is a good idea or not, passing that stimulus package politically is a major achievement," he said. "Some presidents go their whole four years without ever doing anything as big as that."

Mr. Obama has had less success advancing his goal of bipartisan cooperation with Republicans. They largely reject his economic policies.

"More spending, more taxes and more debt," said Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions. "That is what this budget is."

Some experts question whether the American public will give President Obama enough time for his policies to take effect.

"We have never shown a great deal of patience as a people," said Stephen Wayne, an expert on government at Georgetown University in Washington. "But on the other hand, Obama remains¹¹ highly popular, much more so than the Republicans in Congress. If there are any signs of changes in the right direction occurring, I think that will be enough to placate¹² the American people. We are not going to wait indefinitely, but at the moment the bottom line is there are no other options."

Most experts believe President Obama's political fate and eventual¹³ success is tied directly to what happens in the years ahead to the U.S. economy.

But the new president has been busy on other fronts as well, including national security and foreign policy.

Mr. Obama has ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention¹⁴ camp for suspected terrorists, revised interrogation policies for detainees, set a withdrawal¹⁵ date for most U.S. troops from Iraq and has ordered another 17,000 troops sent to Afghanistan.

1 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 reining   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• "That's a fine bevy, Ma'm,'said Gerald gallantly, reining his horse alongside the carriage. "太太！好一窝漂亮的云雀呀！" 杰拉尔德殷勤地说，一面让自己的马告近塔尔顿的马车。
• I was a temperamental genius in need of reining in by stabler personalities. 我是个需要由更稳重的人降服住的神经质的天才。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

9 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

10 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 placate   

v.抚慰，平息(愤怒)

参考例句：

• He never attempts to placate his enemy.他从不企图与敌人和解。
• Even a written apology failed to placate the indignant hostess.甚至一纸书面道歉都没能安抚这个怒气冲冲的女主人。

13 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

14 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

15 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。