2007年VOA标准英语-US Senators Stress Bipartisanship

By Marissa Melton
Washington
03 February 2007

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, a Democrat¹ from New York, and Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, were the keynote speakers at a conference this week unveiling a number of radical² ideas meant to inspire change in U.S. policy on areas such as health care, climate change, and energy efficiency. Both senators, who say they are good friends despite political differences, said they believe the country needs courage and compromise to make the radical changes they say are needed to solve some long-standing problems. VOA's Marissa Melton reports from Washington.

The theme of the Ten Big Ideas for a New America conference, hosted by the nonpartisan New America research group this week was, well, the Ten Big Ideas in the title, proposals by scholars on election systems, economics, health care, retirement⁵, and higher education to improve long-standing problems in U.S. policy. But the big-name speakers, Clinton, Graham, and New America founder⁶ Ted³ Halstead, focused on a broader idea. Each said the results of November's congressional elections, in which Democrats⁷ gained control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, signals a new feeling in the nation that this is the time for a new approach to old problems.

Halstead said there is support now for aggressive change in U.S. policy, after more than a decade of Republican control in Congress. "The political moment in America now is so ripe for big ideas. No question, the recent election was as significant turning point in American political history. As we all know, it was the end of conservative political domination of Congress that began in 1994. But what was so interesting about this recent election and this new era in American politics is that the pendulum⁸ has not swung back to traditional liberalism. Rather, this new era belongs to those who are willing to step outside of the partisan⁴ fray⁹ and offer the American people what they most want, which is bipartisan cooperation on bold reforms to solve our national problems."

One scholar presented a proposal for instant-runoff voting, which would allow voters to pick a first, second, and third-choice candidate, eliminating the need for primary elections and the expense that comes with them. Another proposed a national work-study plan to allow low-income students to pay for college without going into debt. A third offered a plan for universal health care, an important priority of Senator Clinton's.

 
Hillary Rodham Clinton 
Clinton undertook health care reform as First Lady, during the first term of her husband Bill Clinton's presidency¹⁰ in 1993. Though her effort failed, Clinton said it was a learning experience. She said she plans to continue her work on health care reform in her campaign for the presidency in 2008.

Clinton said during her campaign travels people have been telling her they are frustrated¹¹ and discouraged. She says they really want a new path for the nation. But she said that requires flexibility¹², something she has not seen in Congress in recent years. "You know there is also a sort of troubling strain of fatalism in a lot of our debate, particularly over the last six years. Why can't we deal with the energy crisis? It would wreck¹³ our economy, end of debate. Well, no, in fact it would help us create new jobs. Why can't we deal with health care? Well, look what happened to Hillary Clinton when she tried," she said.

 
Senator Lindsey Graham
Graham, from the southern U.S. state of South Carolina, said he encountered similar opposition¹⁴ when he proposed changes to Social Security, the federal retirement plan. But he said persistence¹⁵ is worth it. "If we can push through the demagoguery, stand up against the attack ads for just a little while, on the other side is a large group of Americans desiring to be led and to embrace big ideas," he said.

Both senators emphasized that bipartisan cooperation is vital to the process of solving America's problems. Graham quipped that his relationship with Clinton is a good example of that. "We have become, actually, good friends. And that was a surprise to both of us," he said.

But joking aside, he said failing to cooperate would have dire¹⁶ consequences. He told the audience that if the Hillary Clintons and Lindsey Grahams of the world can't work together, America's best days are over.

1 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。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

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。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 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》

8 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

9 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

13 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

14 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。

15 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

16 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。