CNN 2011-02-04

Thanks, y'all! That was a cool introduction. Thank you to everyone for tuning¹ in to CNN Student News. First up today, we're making good on a promise we made yesterday to bring you this:

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who's contemplating² their career choice, if you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher. Your country needs you.

President Obama, speaking directly to you during Tuesday night's State of the Union address. We promised you highlights, and we've got 'em. To set the scene a little bit, the president gave his speech to a Congress that tried to display unity³ in a couple ways. Members of different political parties sat together; usually doesn't happen during these speeches. And a lot of House members wore special ribbons to honor the victims of a recent shooting.

As for the speech itself, the president pushed for bigger investments in clean energy. He proposed a freeze on some government spending, and set a goal to hire thousands of new teachers, as you heard, by the end of the decade. President Obama's vision for how the country will move forward is a path that he says America has taken before.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn't know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do -- what America does better than anyone else -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We're the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers, of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives; it is how we make our living.

Republican Representative Paul Ryan gave the official response to the State of the Union. The Wisconsin congressman⁴ said his party wants to work with the president and Democrats⁵ to help turn around the country's economy. Representative Ryan also talked about the idea of limited government and his belief that if the government has a smaller role, it could be more effective. He said the president's approach to the role of government hasn't worked.

The president and the Democratic leadership have shown, by their actions, that they believe government needs to increase its size and its reach, its price tag and its power. Whether sold as stimulus⁶ or repackaged as investment, their actions show they want a federal government that controls too much, taxes too much, and spends too much in order to do too much.

1 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

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 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。