国外媒体:两党就医疗保险改革争执不下

Back in the nation's capital, the debate over health care reform is ratcheting up. The House of Representatives might vote on its health care bill this weekend. And yesterday, that bill, which has been backed primarily by House Democrats¹, picked up the support of two big groups: AARP and the AMA.

AARP is the country's largest organization of older Americans. The group's head says the house bill meets AARP's goals when it comes to health care reform. The AMA, or American Medical Association, is one of the nation's most influential² medical groups. It said the bill doesn't represent its views perfectly³, but it's close enough to earn the AMA's support.

Many people, including most House Republicans, are opposed to the $1.1 trillion bill. Yesterday, they held a rally at the U.S. Capitol to speak out against it. One of their main criticisms is that the public option that's included in the bill is basically a government takeover of the country's health care system. Republicans have offered their own proposals, but they've been rejected by Democrats, who are in the majority in the House. Yesterday, leaders from both parties spoke⁴ out against each other's plans.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: This weekend, the House of Representatives is likely to vote on Pelosi-care. This bill is the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen in the 19 years I have been here in Washington. Taking away your freedom to choose your doctor.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Anything you need to know about the difference between the Democratic bill and the Republican bill is that the Republicans do not end health insurance companies' discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. Let that stand. That's scandalous, the fact that it exists. I don't understand why we have not heard the American people who have said that pre-existing conditions should not be a source of discrimination.

1 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》

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。