VOA标准英语2010年-Obama: Improved Jobless Rate Cause for

President Barack Obama waves as he walks away from the podium during his visit to Oasis¹ Mechanical Contractors², in Lanham, Md., 05 Feb 2010, after meeting with small business leaders

President Barack Obama says Friday's mixed news on U.S. unemployment is cause for hope but not celebration.  Tthe president is asking lawmakers to support programs he says will help boost hiring.

The nation's jobless rate eased by three-tenths of a percent in January, to 9.7 percent, its lowest level in five months.  However, the Labor³ Department says 20,000 more jobs were lost last month.

President Obama says that is a small step in the right direction.

"These numbers, while positive, are cause for hope but not celebration, because far too many of our neighbors and friends and family are still out of work," he said.

Mr. Obama made the comments at a small mechanical contracting company near Washington, where he continued to promote policies designed to help small businesses increase hiring.

The president said there are encouraging signs in the latest numbers. 

"The job loss in January was a small fraction of what it was a year ago, and that the unemployment rate last month went down and not up," said the president.  "Understanding that these numbers will continue to fluctuate for months to come, these are welcome, if modest, signs of progress along the road to recovery," he added.

White House officials say a total of 8.4 million jobs have been lost in the past two years, and last year's economic stimulus⁴ bill simply cannot create that many jobs. 

Mr. Obama says the answer is to encourage hiring in small businesses.

"The true engine of job creation will always be businesses.  What government can do is fuel that engine by giving entrepreneurs and companies the support to open their doors and to expand and to hire more workers," he said.

The president is asking lawmakers to temporarily expand two government lending programs for the owners of small businesses.

"What I strongly urge is that we work quickly and that we work together to get this done.  America's small businesses are counting on us," he said.

Mr. Obama has also proposed sending $30 billion repaid by large banks to community banks for lending to small businesses.

 

1 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

2 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 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。