美国有线新闻 CNN 特朗普上任以来首次在国会发表演讲

 

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Almost seven decades of U.S. presidential State of the Union Addresses and speeches to Joint¹ Sessions of Congress. The difference is where we start today on CNN 10.

Last night, President Donald Trump² gave his first speech to a joint congressional session. Why was it called that for the president's annual message instead of a State of the Union Address? Because President Trump's been in office less than two months, and like any first president in his first year, he's not expected to know or to be in authority on the actual State of the Union.

But the setup, the location, the attendance, it all looks the same as the State of the Union Address.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States!

(APPLAUSE)

AZUZ: It was delivered in the House of Representatives. It was in front of representatives, senators, Supreme³ Court justices, the president's cabinet. And it follows the annual tradition of a president speaking to other U.S. leaders and the nation as a whole.

Tradition is key, though, because the U.S. Constitution doesn't require most of what takes place in an annual address. It says only that the president shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union. It doesn't have to be in person, doesn't have to be every year, it doesn't have to be on TV. The Constitution's framers didn't have TV. So, they wouldn't have had the view that much of the world could have had last night when President Trump outlined his vision for America's future.

Here are some highlights.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All the nations of the world — friend or foe⁴ — will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.

A new national pride is sweeping⁵ across our nation. And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. What we are witnessing today is the renewal⁶ of the American spirit. Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead.

(APPLAUSE)

I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future.

For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. We've financed and built one global project after another, but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and so many other places throughout our land.

We've defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross, and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented⁷ rate.

The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us. We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls, and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action.

From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations⁸, not burdened by our fears, inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past.

I am asking all members of Congress to join me in dreaming big, and bold, and daring things for our country. I am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment. Believe in yourselves. Believe in your future. And believe, once more, in America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

AZUZ: OK, that wasn't the only political speech of the night. Something else that's not required by the Constitution, but it's been a tradition since the 1960s is the opposing party's response to the president's annual message.

President Trump is a Republican. So, after his address, a Democrat⁹ and former governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, gave his party's response.

STEVEN BESHEAR, FORMER KENTUCKY GOVERNOR: Real leaders don't spread derision and division. Real leaders strengthen, they unify¹⁰, they partner, and they offer real solutions instead of ultimatums¹¹ and blame.

Look, I may be old-fashioned, but I still believe that dignity, compassion¹², honesty and accountability are basic American values. And as a Democrat, I believe that if you work hard, you deserve the opportunity to realize the American dream, regardless of whether you're a coal miner in Kentucky, a teacher in Rhode Island, an autoworker in Detroit or a software engineer in San Antonio.

Our political system is broken. It's broken because too many of our leaders think it's all about them. They need to remember that they work for us and helping¹³ us is their work.

1 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。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

7 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

8 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

11 ultimatums   

最后通牒( ultimatum的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Environmental groups in Nevada and the Midwest have issued similar ultimatums. 内华达和中西部的环保团体也发布了类似的最后通牒。
• A proactive teacher doesn't deliver ultimatums. [先发制人式]师并不下最后通牒。

12 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。