VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - After 'Shellacking' of D

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
A "shellacking" is an especially bad defeat. And that was how President Obama described the elections on Tuesday. His Democratic Party lost control of the House of Representatives. The Democrats¹ retook the House four years ago from the Republican Party.
Now the Republicans will have a solid majority. And they have narrowed the Democrats' majority in the Senate.
REPORTER: "What does it feel like?"BARACK OBAMA: "It feels bad."Mr. Obama told reporters the message he heard was that voters want more cooperation in Washington.
BARACK OBAMA: "What they were expressing great frustration² about is the fact that we haven't made enough progress on the economy."But that was not how it sounded to Representative John Boehner. The Republican from Ohio is likely to become the next House speaker. He says voters want the president to change direction.
President Obama with aides and cabinet members in the White House Cabinet Room Thursday JOHN BOEHNER: "It is pretty clear the American people want us to do something about cutting spending here in Washington. And helping³ to create an environment where we get jobs back in our country."The new Congress opens in January. President Obama is inviting⁴ leaders of both parties to a meeting at the White House on November eighteenth.
MITCH MCCONNELL: "If the administration wants cooperation, it will have to begin move in our direction."Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell recently said his party's top political goal is to make sure Mr. Obama is a one-term president. In a speech on Thursday, the senator noted⁵ that he had been criticized for his comments.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio after his party's victory in the midterm elections But he said if the main legislative⁶ goals of the Republicans are to replace the health care law …MITCH McCONNELL: " … to end the bailouts, cut spending and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all of those things is to put someone in the White House who will not veto any of those things."President Obama says he is willing to try any good ideas the Republicans have for job growth. But he says he is not open to major changes in the health care law.
BARACK OBAMA: "I think we'd be misreading the election if we thought that the American people want to see us for the next two years re-litigate arguments that we had over the last two years."John Fortier studies politics for the American Enterprise Institute. He says opposition⁷ parties have worked together in the past.
JOHN FORTIER: "Divided government -- Congress of one party or part of the Congress, and a president of the other -- is sometimes very productive."Mr. Fortier says it might be harder this time, in part because attention now turns to the twenty twelve presidential campaign. He says Republican candidates will try to appeal to a voting population that has become more conservative.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky spoke⁸ at the Heritage Foundation in Washington Four in ten Americans who voted this week said they considered themselves Tea Party supporters.
The Tea Party movement heavily supported Republican candidates who shared its conservative positions. The movement wants limited government, less federal spending and lower taxes.
But the Tea Party is made up of many different groups. So the exact number of winning candidates who share its values is unclear. Media reports differed widely, from about thirty candidates nationally to more than one hundred.
On Friday, the Labor⁹ Department said the economy gained more than two times as many jobs in October as most economists¹⁰ expected. It was the best report since May. Still, the unemployment rate stayed at nine and six-tenths percent for the third month.
President Obama called the numbers encouraging but not good enough. He spoke before leaving for India on the start of his trip to Asia.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 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。

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 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。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》