奥巴马演讲 "On Behalf of My Mother"(3)
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-03-28 01:22 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

THE VICE1 PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Fired up!  Ready to go!  Fired up!  Ready to go!

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

Mr. President, I think we got a happy room here.  (Laughter.)  It seems ridiculous to say thank you all for being here.  (Laughter.)  Ladies and gentlemen, to state the obvious, this is a historic day.  (Applause.)

In our business you use that phrase a lot, but I can't think of a day in the 37 years that I've been a United States senator and the short time I've been Vice President that it is more appropriately stated.  This is a historic day.

And history -- history is not merely what is printed in textbooks.  It doesn’t begin or end with the stroke of a pen.  History is made.  History is made when men and women decide that there is a greater risk in accepting a situation that we cannot bear than in steeling our spine3(脊柱) and embracing the promise of change.  That's when history is made.  (Applause.)

History is made when you all assembled here today, members of Congress, take charge to change the lives of tens of millions of Americans.  Through the efforts of those of us lucky enough to serve here in this town, that's exactly what you’ve done.  You’ve made history.

History is made when a leader steps up, stays true to his values, and charts a fundamentally different course for the country.  History is made when a leader’s passion -- passion -- is matched with principle to set a new course.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. President, you are that leader.  (Applause.)

Mr. President, your fierce advocacy(拥护,主张) , the clarity of purpose that you showed, your perseverance4 -- these are in fact -- it is not hyperbole(夸张法) to say -- these are the reasons why we're assembled in this room together, today.  But for those attributes we would not be here.  Many, many men and women are going to feel the pride that I feel in watching you shortly, watching you sign this bill, knowing that their work -- their work has helped make this day possible.  But, Mr. President, you’re the guy that made it happen.  (Applause.)

And so, Mr. President, all of us, press and elected officials, assembled in this town over the years, we’ve seen some incredible things happen.  But you know, Mr. President, you’ve done what generations of not just ordinary, but great men and women, have attempted to do.  Republicans as well as Democrats5, they’ve tried before.  Everybody knows the story, starting with Teddy Roosevelt.  They’ve tried.  They were real bold leaders. 
But, Mr. President, they fell short.  You have turned, Mr. President, the right of every American to have access to decent health care into reality for the first time in American history. (Applause.)

Mr. President, I’ve gotten to know you well enough.  You want me to stop because I’m embarrassing you.  (Laughter.)  But I’m not going to stop for another minute, Mr. President, because you delivered on a promise -- a promise you made to all Americans when we moved into this building.

Mr. President, you are -- to repeat myself -- literally6 about to make history.  Our children and our grandchildren, they’re going to grow up knowing that a man named Barack Obama put the final girder(大梁) in the framework for a social network in this country to provide the single most important element of what people need -- and that is access to good health -- (applause) -- and that every American from this day forward will be treated with simple fairness and basic justice.

Look, the classic poet, Virgil, once said that “The greatest wealth is health.”  The greatest wealth is health.  Well, today, America becomes a whole lot wealthier because tens of millions of Americans will be a whole lot healthier from this moment on.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you everybody.  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Please, have a seat.

Thank you, Joe.  (Laughter.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good to be with you, Mr. President.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied7 –- health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  Today.#p#分页标题#e#

It is fitting that Congress passed this historic legislation this week.  For as we mark the turning of spring, we also mark a new season in America.  In a few moments, when I sign this bill, all of the overheated rhetoric8(修辞,花言巧语) over reform will finally confront the reality of reform.  (Applause.)

And while the Senate still has a last round of improvements to make on this historic legislation -- and these are improvements I’m confident they will make swiftly -- (applause)  -- the bill I’m signing will set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for, and marched for, and hungered to see.

It will take four years to implement9(实施,落实) fully10 many of these reforms, because we need to implement them responsibly.  We need to get this right.  But a host of desperately11 needed reforms will take effect right away.  (Applause.)

This year, we’ll start offering tax credits(税收抵免) to about 4 million small businessmen and women to help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees.  (Applause.)  That happens this year.

This year, tens of thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions, the parents of children who have a preexisting condition, will finally be able to purchase the coverage12 they need.  That happens this year.  (Applause.)

This year, insurance companies will no longer be able to drop people’s coverage when they get sick.  (Applause.)  They won’t be able to place lifetime limits or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care they can receive.  (Applause.)

This year, all new insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care.  And this year, young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ policies until they’re 26 years old.  That happens this year.  (Applause.)

And this year, seniors who fall in the coverage gap known as the doughnut(油炸圈饼) hole will start getting some help.  They’ll receive $250 to help pay for prescriptions13(处方,药方) , and that will, over time, fill in the doughnut hole.  And I want seniors to know, despite what some have said, these reforms will not cut your guaranteed benefits.  (Applause.)  In fact, under this law, Americans on Medicare will receive free preventive care without co-payments or deductibles(自付额) .  That begins this year.  (Applause.)

Once this reform is implemented14, health insurance exchanges will be created, a competitive marketplace where uninsured people and small businesses will finally be able to purchase affordable15, quality insurance.  They will be able to be part of a big pool and get the same good deal that members of Congress get.  That’s what’s going to happen under this reform.  (Applause.)  And when this exchange is up and running, millions of people will get tax breaks to help them afford coverage, which represents the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history.   That's what this reform is about.  (Applause.) 

This legislation will also lower costs for families and for businesses and for the federal government, reducing our deficit16 by over $1 trillion in the next two decades.  It is paid for.  It is fiscally17 responsible.  And it will help lift a decades-long drag on our economy.  That's part of what all of you together worked on and made happen.  (Applause.)

That our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament18 to the persistence19 –- and the character -– of the American people, who championed this cause; who mobilized; who organized; who believed that people who love this country can change it.

It’s also a testament to the historic leadership -– and uncommon20 courage –- of the men and women of the United States Congress, who’ve taken their lumps during this difficult debate. (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, we did.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  You know, there are few tougher jobs in politics or government than leading one of our legislative21 chambers23.  In each chamber22, there are men and women who come from different places and face different pressures, who reach different conclusions about the same things and feel deeply concerned about different things.

By necessity, leaders have to speak to those different concerns.  It isn’t always tidy; it is almost never easy.  But perhaps the greatest –- and most difficult –- challenge is to cobble together out of those differences the sense of common interest and common purpose that’s required to advance the dreams of all people -- especially in a country as large and diverse as ours.

And we are blessed by leaders in each chamber who not only do their jobs very well but who never lost sight of that larger mission.  They didn’t play for the short term; they didn’t play to the polls or to politics:  One of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  (Applause.)#p#分页标题#e#

AUDIENCE:  Nancy!  Nancy!  Nancy!  Nancy!

THE PRESIDENT:  One of the best majority leaders the Senate has ever had, Mr. Harry24 Reid.  (Applause.)

To all of the terrific committee chairs, all the members of Congress who did what was difficult, but did what was right, and passed health care reform -- not just this generation of Americans will thank you, but the next generation of Americans will thank you.

And of course, this victory was also made possible by the painstaking25 work of members of this administration, including our outstanding Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius -- (applause) -- and one of the unsung heroes of this effort, an extraordinary woman who led the reform effort from the White House, Nancy-Ann DeParle.  Where’s Nancy?  (Applause.)

Today, I’m signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days.

I’m signing it for Ryan Smith, who’s here today.  He runs a small business with five employees.  He’s trying to do the right thing, paying half the cost of coverage for his workers.  This bill will help him afford that coverage.

I’m signing it for 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, who’s also here.  (Applause.)  Marcelas lost his mom to an illness.  And she didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford the care that she needed.  So in her memory he has told her story across America so that no other children have to go through what his family has experienced.  (Applause.)

I’m signing it for Natoma Canfield.  Natoma had to give up her health coverage after her rates were jacked up by more than 40 percent.  She was terrified that an illness would mean she’d lose the house that her parents built, so she gave up her insurance.  Now she’s lying in a hospital bed, as we speak, faced with just such an illness, praying that she can somehow afford to get well without insurance.  Natoma’s family is here today because Natoma can’t be.  And her sister Connie is here.  Connie, stand up.  (Applause.)

I’m signing this bill for all the leaders who took up this cause through the generations -- from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt, from Harry Truman, to Lyndon Johnson, from Bill and Hillary Clinton, to one of the deans who’s been fighting this so long, John Dingell.  (Applause.)  To Senator Ted2 Kennedy.  (Applause.)  And it’s fitting that Ted’s widow, Vicki, is here -- it’s fitting that Teddy’s widow, Vicki, is here; and his niece Caroline; his son Patrick, whose vote helped make this reform a reality.  (Applause.)

I remember seeing Ted walk through that door in a summit in this room a year ago -- one of his last public appearances.  And it was hard for him to make it.  But he was confident that we would do the right thing.

Our presence here today is remarkable26 and improbable.  With all the punditry27, all of the lobbying, all of the game-playing that passes for governing in Washington, it’s been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing; to wonder if there are limits to what we, as a people, can still achieve.  It’s easy to succumb28 to the sense of cynicism about what’s possible in this country.

But today, we are affirming that essential truth -– a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself –- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations29.  (Applause.)  We are not a nation that falls prey30 to doubt or mistrust.  We don't fall prey to fear.  We are not a nation that does what’s easy.  That’s not who we are.  That’s not how we got here.

We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities.  We are a nation that does what is hard.  What is necessary.  What is right.  Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny.  That is what we do.  That is who we are.  That is what makes us the United States of America.

And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.  (Applause.)  And it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of all of you and all the advocates all across the country.

So, thank you.  Thank you.  God bless you, and may God bless the United States.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.

All right, I would now like to call up to stage some of the members of Congress who helped make this day possible, and some of the Americans who will benefit from these reforms.  And we’re going to sign this bill.

This is going to take a little while.  I’ve got to use every pen, so it’s going to take a really long time.  (Laughter.)  I didn’t practice.  (Laughter.)#p#分页标题#e#

(The bill is signed.)

We are done.  (Applause.)

END
11:56 A.M. EDT



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
2 ted 9gazhs     
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。
3 spine lFQzT     
n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊
参考例句:
  • He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
  • His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。
4 perseverance oMaxH     
n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠
参考例句:
  • It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
  • Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。
5 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
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》
6 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
7 tallied 61a1841ec60066b24767ba76be257ac1     
v.计算,清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 );加标签(或标记)于;(使)符合;(使)吻合
参考例句:
  • The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
  • His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句
8 rhetoric FCnzz     
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语
参考例句:
  • Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗?
  • Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后,他和军队的关系岌岌可危。
9 implement WcdzG     
n.(pl.)工具,器具;vt.实行,实施,执行
参考例句:
  • Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划,除非你能完成这项计划。
  • The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
10 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
11 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
12 coverage nvwz7v     
n.报导,保险范围,保险额,范围,覆盖
参考例句:
  • There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
  • This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。
13 prescriptions f0b231c0bb45f8e500f32e91ec1ae602     
药( prescription的名词复数 ); 处方; 开处方; 计划
参考例句:
  • The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
  • Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。
14 implemented a0211e5272f6fc75ac06e2d62558aff0     
v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效
参考例句:
  • This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革,经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句
15 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。
16 deficit tmAzu     
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
参考例句:
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
17 fiscally 4217641d0ca8ff64c55ee7fbbbeaa396     
在国库方面,财政上,在国库岁入方面
参考例句:
  • Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
  • We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了,美女类小游戏,这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。
18 testament yyEzf     
n.遗嘱;证明
参考例句:
  • This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
  • It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明,编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。
19 persistence hSLzh     
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。
20 uncommon AlPwO     
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
参考例句:
  • Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
  • Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
21 legislative K9hzG     
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。
22 chamber wnky9     
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。
23 chambers c053984cd45eab1984d2c4776373c4fe     
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
参考例句:
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
24 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
25 painstaking 6A6yz     
adj.苦干的;艰苦的,费力的,刻苦的
参考例句:
  • She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明,但肯下苦功夫。
  • Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力,才取得今天的成绩。
26 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
27 punditry b1333102724823694e354c3fd778bbcd     
n.专家(或权威等)的学问(或方法、见解)
参考例句:
28 succumb CHLzp     
v.屈服,屈从;死
参考例句:
  • They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
  • Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗?
29 aspirations a60ebedc36cdd304870aeab399069f9e     
强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 ); 志向; 发送气音; 发 h 音
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
  • The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。
30 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
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