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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Senate is moving ahead with one of President Biden's top economic priorities.
参议院正在推进拜登总统的其中一项首要经济任务。
Early this morning, it took the first step in passing a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that could lead to major reforms in social programs.
今天清晨，参议院迈出了第一步——通过了3.5万亿美元的预算决议，这可能引发社会项目的重大改革。
The vote came just hours after the Senate passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure1 package with bipartisan support.
在进行这场投票的几个小时之前，参议院刚刚在两党的支持下通过了价值万亿美元的基础设施方案。
This is all a win for the president who promised to invest in the nation's economy and also prove that Democrats2 and Republicans can still work together.
对承诺投资国家经济的总统来说，这一切都是胜利，同时也证明了民主党人和共和党人仍可以合作。
So what might this mean for the president politically?
那这对总统在政治上意味着什么？
NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid, good morning.
NPR新闻驻白宫记者阿斯玛·哈立德将就此进行报道，早上好。
Good morning, Debbie.
早上好，黛比。
So what now has to happen for these two bills?
这两项法案目前情况如何？
Well, this $3.5 trillion spending package that is chock full of Democratic priorities for things like climate change and child care is actually just starting to get worked out.
这项3.5万亿美元的支出计划里满是民主党的优先事项，比如气候变化和儿童保育，实际上才刚刚开始制定。
So it's just really the first step. And frankly3, it's not going to get any Republican votes.
因此这只是第一步。坦率地说，这项计划不会得到任何共和党人的支持。
Democrats have been insisting that this bill, the $3.5 trillion one, along with the bipartisan infrastructure bill must be passed in tandem4.
但民主党人一直坚称，这项3.5万亿美元的法案以及两党基础设施法案必须同时通过。
The problem for Democrats is that they have such small majorities in both chambers5 that it could be difficult to keep all their members in line.
民主党人面临的问题是，他们在参众两院都只拥有相当微弱的多数席位，很难让所有成员保持一致。
Now, President Biden seems confident that he is going to win passage of the two spending bills.
现在，拜登总统似乎充满信心，认为自已会赢得这两项支出法案的通过。
That would come on top of the big COVID relief bill from earlier this year. Will voters take note?
而且今年早些时候，国会还通过了一项巨额新冠肺炎救济法案。选民会注意到吗？
You know, perhaps.
也许。
But it is not clear that voters have thus far been connecting the dots back to President Biden even if they have been personally benefiting from something he's done.
但尚不清楚的是，选民目前是否将这些与拜登总统联系到一起，即使他们一直在从拜登的举措中获得个人利益。
Steve Schale is a Democratic strategist and leads Unite the Country.
史蒂夫·沙尔是民主党战略家，领导“团结国家”组织。
It's a pro-Biden super PAC that's been running ads trying to promote the president's accomplishments6.
该组织是支持拜登的超级政治行动委员会，一直在投放广告，试图宣传总统的成就。
He told me the story of a Republican woman in one of his focus groups who was saying that the expanded child tax credit had been a lifesaver.
他给我讲了他其中一个焦点小组中一名共和党女性的故事，她认为扩大的儿童税收抵免是救命稻草。
But she did not attribute that to the president.
但她并未将这归功于总统。
And Schale feels that Democrats are going to have their work cut out for them ahead of the midterms.
沙尔认为，在中期选举之前，民主党人将面临艰巨的任务。
If there was a lesson of 2010 or 2014 — particularly 2010, which I lived through and have very real scar tissue from — is that you have to draw those lines.
如果说2010年或2014年有什么教训的话——特别是2010年，我经历过，而且留下了非常真实的疤痕组织——那就是划清界线。
And it's not that voters are clueless. Voters are busy.
这不是说选民一无所知。选民们很忙。
Certainly busy this year trying to survive a pandemic, right? Now that cases are skyrocketing again, does that hurt Biden's agenda?
今年一定很忙，因为人们要努力在疫情中生存下来，对吧？现在病例再次激增，这是否损害了拜登的议程？
I took that question to the White House.
我向白宫提出了这个问题。
And the White House told me that they have always known that everything is intrinsically tied to COVID and its unpredictability.
白宫告诉我，他们一直都知道，一切都与新冠肺炎及其不可预测性密切相关。
They also insist they can walk and chew gum at the same time and say, look at infrastructure.
他们还坚称，他们可以“一边走一边嚼口香糖”，一边说，看看基础设施。
But in terms of other issues, Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who's advised Biden,
但在其他问题上，为拜登提供建议的民主党民意调查员塞琳达·莱克告诉我，
told me that issues like crime or climate change or even voting rights have all fallen off his priorities for voters.
犯罪、气候变化甚至投票权等问题都不再是他在吸引选民时优先考虑的问题。
She's noticed that when concern about COVID increases, it seems to cloud out everything else.
她注意到，当人们对新冠疫情的担忧增加时，其他一切似乎都被掩盖了。
And the president has gotten good marks to date for how he's handled the virus.
到目前为止，总统在应对病毒方面取得了不错的成绩。
The question, of course, is whether delta7 at all changes the dynamic. Here's Celinda Lake.
当然，问题是“德尔塔”变种是否会改变这一动态。以下是塞琳达·莱克所说。
I think the jury is still out. People still trust him and his job performance on COVID. It's his best area.
我想现在还没有定论。人们仍然信任他和他在新冠疫情中的工作表现。这是他最擅长的领域。
On the other hand, I think people are — what can we do about it? Is there anything that can be done about it?
另一方面，我认为人们……我们能做些什么呢？对此我们能做什么？
Is my governor at fault? Is my president doing what he should? And people are really floundering right now.
我的州长有错吗？我的总统在做他应该做的事情吗？人们现在真的在苦苦挣扎。
You know, Celinda says there are aspects of the Democratic agenda that are seen as solutions to problems people have experienced during the pandemic,
塞琳达表示，民主党议程的某些方面被视为人们在疫情期间所经历问题的解决方法，
things like, say, expanded child care that are a part of that big spending bill Democrats want to pass in Congress.
比如，扩大儿童保育，这是民主党希望在国会通过的巨额支出法案的部分内容。
The tricky8 thing is Republicans are also pointing to that big spending bill and saying that it's going to drive up inflation.
棘手的是，共和党人指向了这项巨额开支法案，并称它将推高通胀。
So really, the question comes down to, you know, connecting the dots and which party can do that more effectively.
因此，问题可以归结为，把这些点联系起来，哪个政党的举措能更有效。
NPR's Asma Khalid, thanks so much.
以上是NPR新闻的阿斯玛·哈立德带来的报道，非常谢谢你。
My pleasure.
不客气。
收听单词发音 |
1
infrastructure
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| n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施 | |
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democrats
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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3
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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4
tandem
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| n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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