2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Urges Break in US Immigration Stalema

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
05 April 2006

President Bush is continuing to pressure the U.S. Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Prospects¹ for quick action in the Senate are not good.

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George Bush a makes statement on immigration, April 5, 2006  
  

After an early morning meeting with congressional leaders, the president made a statement to White House reporters on immigration reform.

"This is a vital debate. I thank the members who are working hard to get a bill done," he said. "I strongly urge them to come to a conclusion as quickly as possible and pass a comprehensive bill."

The president's comments on pending² legislation highlighted the difficulties lawmakers are having coming to terms on this controversial issue.

Debate in the Senate has been beset³ with parliamentary roadblocks, bringing work on the bill to a virtual standstill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has set a Friday deadline for senators to complete their version of immigration reform legislation. But there are indications that deadline may not be met.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter predicts senators will head off on a holiday break this week still deadlocked⁴ on how best to reform the nation's immigration laws. He spoke⁵ with frustration⁶ Wednesday after another round of procedural wrangling⁷ in the Senate chamber⁸.

"The technical rules have brought us to an absolute impasse⁹ again, and so again we have another day wasted," he said.

Patrick Leahy is the senior Democrat¹⁰ on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He too complained about the lack of progress, and suggested the Republicans are to blame.

"Let us go back to having a Senate that will debate issues, and get away from the polemics," he said.

There is agreement in Congress that something must be done to tackle the problem of illegal immigration. But with more than 11 million undocumented immigrants now in the United States, there are deep differences on approach.

An immigration reform bill passed last December in the House of Representatives focused solely¹¹ on border security and enforcement. Immigration advocates, who have been staging demonstrations¹² in cities across the country, hope the Senate will moderate the House bill and add steps that permit illegal immigrants to get temporary guest worker status.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

5 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。

6 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。

7 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

9 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

10 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。

11 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

12 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。