VOA标准英语2012--US Economy Remains Focus of Presidential Race

US Economy Remains¹ Focus of Presidential Race

It is the central political issue of 2012: the U.S. economy, which suffered the worst recession of the post-World War II era in 2007 and 2008, and has endured an anemic recovery since. But the economic landscape may be changing. U.S. unemployment has fallen for four consecutive² months, down from 9 percent in September to 8.3 percent in January.
While Wall Street rallied Friday on the latest jobs report, President Obama highlighted the good news. “In January, American businesses added another 257,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came down, because more people found work. And altogether, we have added 3.7-million jobs over the last 23 months," he said.
The response from Republicans vying³ to challenge the president in the November election? Too little too late to alter what they see as Mr. Obama’s failed economic stewardship⁴. Addressing supporters after his caucus⁵ victory Saturday in Nevada, former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁶ Romney pointed⁷ out the Obama administration initially⁸ aimed to keep the unemployment rate at 8 percent or less.
“This week he has been trying to take a bow for 8.3-percent unemployment. Not so fast, Mr. President. This is the 36th straight month with unemployment above the red line your own administration drew," he said.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had a similar line of attack on NBC’s "Meet The Press" program. “Unemployment has dropped. Well, it has dropped. You know why? Because over 4 percent of the people who would be unemployed⁹ have quit looking for work. If we had the same participation¹⁰ rate we had a couple years ago, we would be at 12- or 13-percent unemployment," he said.
For President Obama, a fine line to walk: trumpeting¹¹ good news while acknowledging the need for further improvement. “There are still far too many Americans who need a job or need a job that pays better than the one they have now. But the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up. And we have got to do everything in our power to keep it going," he said.
Polling firms report modest improvements in President Obama’s approval ratings that coincide with recent positive economic data.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 stewardship   

n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Last, but certainly not least, are the issues of stewardship and ethics. 最后，但当然不是微不足道的，是工作和道德规范的问题。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

11 trumpeting   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She is always trumpeting her son. 她总是吹嘘她儿子。
• The wind is trumpeting, a bugle calling to charge! 风在掌号。冲锋号！ 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译