The U.S. unemployment rate dipped in March to its lowest level in two years, and President Barack Obama hailed the "good news."
美国3月份失业率下降到两年来的最低水平。美国总统奥巴马称赞说，这是“好消息”。
The Labor Department says 8.8 percent of the U.S. work force was unemployed in March. That is one-tenth of a percent lower than in February, and a full point below its level in November.
美国劳工部说，美国3月份失业率为8.8%,比2月份下降0.1个百分点，与去年11月相比，整整下降了一个百分点。
President Obama said Friday the economy is making strong gains in creating jobs. "Our economy is showing signs of real strength. Today, we learned that we added 230,000 private sector jobs last month. And that is good news," he said.
奥巴马星期五说，美国经济在创造就业方面正取得强劲增长。他说：“我们的经济折正显示出真正的增长力量。今天，我们得知私营部门上个月增加了23万个就业岗位。 这是好消息。”
At a parcel shipping company near Washington, Mr. Obama said the new, lower jobless numbers are an encouraging sign that an economic recovery is under way.
在华盛顿一个包裹投递公司，奥巴马说，新出台的有关失业率下降的数据是令人鼓舞的信号，显示经济复苏正在进行。
"That makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last 13 months," he said. "And the unemployment rate has now fallen a full point in the last four months. And the last time that happened was during the recovery in 1984."
他说：“过去13个月，私营部门共创造了180万个就业机会。过去四个月，失业率下降了整整一个百分点。这样的情况在1984年复苏的时候才出现过。”
The president acknowledged that millions of Americans are still looking for jobs, and he pledged to work harder to restore the jobs lost in the recession.
奥巴马总统承认，仍然有数百万的美国人在寻找工作。他承诺将进一步努力，恢复在衰退中失去的就业机会。
Mr. Obama said his campaign to reduce America’s dependence on imported oil will help to continue the momentum of the economic recovery, partially by creating jobs in the clean-energy economy.
奥巴马说，他认为减少美国对进口原油的依赖所做的努力将会有助于经济复苏势头的继续，这主要是通过创造清洁能源经济行业的工作。
On Wednesday, the president announced his energy policy, including efforts to cut U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025.
星期三，奥巴马总统宣布了他的能源政策，其中包括在2025年把美国原油进口削减三分之一的措施。
The president called Friday for the U.S. government’s fleet of more than 600,000 vehicles to consist entirely of fuel-efficient cars and trucks within the next few years.
奥巴马星期五还要求政府各部门在今后几年内把60多万辆公车全部换成节能型车辆。
"We have already doubled the number of federal cars and trucks that are hybrids, and I am directing our departments and agencies to make sure 100 percent of the vehicles they buy are fuel-efficient or clean-energy cars or trucks by 2015," he said.
他说：“我们已经把联邦政府使用的混合动力型轿车和卡车的数量增加了一倍。我要求所有的部委在2025年之前做到它们购买的车要全部都是使用节能燃料和清洁能源的汽车。”
Mr. Obama announced a program in which the government will assist corporations which replace their gasoline-powered vehicles with those that run on alternative energy sources.
奥巴马还宣布一个计划，就是政府要给那些把汽油车辆更换成替代能源车辆的公司提供帮助。
The president also said he is encouraged by the progress of budget talks between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
奥巴马总统还表示，他对国会民主党和共和党在预算讨论中取得进展感到高兴。
Despite warnings about a possible government shutdown if an agreement is not reached, Mr. Obama said the leaders of both parties agreed on how much spending should be cut. He said details remain to be worked out, but a compromise is within reach.
先前有消息说，如果两党不能达成一致，政府就有可能被迫停止办公。奥巴马表示，两党领袖已经就政府开支削减幅度达成一致看法。虽然具体细节还有待斟酌，但离达成妥协已经不远了。 |