(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
AMNA NAWAZ: Well, it is often easier to spend money than it is to save it. And that seems to be at the heart of a new two-year budget deal crafted by the White House and top congressional Democrats. In a nutshell, spending on both domestic and military programs will go up, and debt ceiling limits are suspended until after the 2020 election. Our own Lisa Desjardins, as always, is here to break it all down for us. Lisa, there's a lot in here.
LISA DESJARDINS: A lot.
AMNA NAWAZ: Break it down for us. What's in the deal? What's not?
LISA DESJARDINS: OK. Let's start with the big numbers. First of all, Amna, this does raise the debt ceiling for two years. That's one fiscal crisis averred for now. That's good. Also, right now, in the law, there were out 10 percent budget cuts that were going to hit most of government, the military and non-military alike. This deal removes those budget cuts altogether. Let me show you what it does instead. Let's look at current spending right now broken down by defense and non-defense, defense, a little bit more spending now. Here is what this budget deal does. It increases both of those just a little bit. But that matters, Amna, because right now we are in a time of deficits. So, what this is a deal, so that Republicans get more money for defense, Democrats get more money for non-defense. But it does add a lot of red ink to the picture for everyone. It does mean a shutdown in September is less likely, but it is still possible.
AMNA NAWAZ: So not totally averted.
LISA DESJARDINS: Not totally averted.
AMNA NAWAZ: But less likely. OK. There's a lot of numbers in there.
LISA DESJARDINS: Yes.
AMNA NAWAZ: Remind us, why does all of this matter?
LISA DESJARDINS: I'm so excited to talk about this. Because spending, everyone thinks it's so nerdy, but this is one of the main ways that government touches people and affects the contours of this nation. Just a few example here, for example, the military needs these two-year budget guidelines to have stability and plans, the same for most agencies. This could likely mean perhaps a pay raise for military and other members of the government staff. This is also one of the largest spending bills in the history of our country. And, Amna, on the other side, it could add about $1.7 trillion with a T dollars to the debt, which is now at a record $22 trillion. So, basically, Congress is sort of making a very easy short-term decision, adding to a long-term problem.
AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, you reported on these before. It's worth noting the budget battles have previously brought the government to a standstill.
LISA DESJARDINS: Right.
AMNA NAWAZ: That didn't happen. So, is this a sign of like a new era of bipartisanship in Washington?
LISA DESJARDINS: I would love to say yes. There is some hope, and I will get to that. But, in one sense, I don't think this was any compromise, because both parties just gave each other more money. You get $100 billion, you get $100 billion. It was more collaboration than compromise. There is some hope, however, Amna, in the fact that Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker, somehow quietly found a way, without drama, to steer a major deal not just through Congress, but to get the president on board without wavering. And that has been elusive for everyone, including the White House.
That's a big deal, that Mnuchin figured out how to get the president on this deal with no questions. That is hope for the future.
AMNA NAWAZ: And we will take that as a sign of hope. That is the one big takeaway. Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.
LISA DESJARDINS: My pleasure.
重点解析
1.short-term 短期的
Investors weren't concerned about short-term profits over the next few years.
投资者对未来几年里的短期收益并不感兴趣。
2.debt ceiling 债务上限
The debate about the US debt ceiling and its likely consequences highlights the dilemma.
围绕美国债务上限及其后果的辩论就突显了这一两难问题。
3.pay raise 加薪
The contract would give unionized workers a 12 percent pay raise over three years
合同将给加入工会的工人今后3年12%的加薪。
4.on board 上岸
I hope that they will take on board some of what you have said.
我希望他们能采纳你们所提出的部分想法。
5.in one sense 从某种意义上说
In one sense, the fact that few new commercial buildings can be financed does not matter
从某种意义上说，只有少数新建商业大厦可以融到资金的情况其实并不重要。
参考译文
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：大家都知道，花钱比攒钱容易。这个道理似乎已经成了一项2年预算协议的核心所在，该协议是美国政府和多位高级国会民主党议员一起起草的。简言之，国内项目和军事项目的支出会提高，而债务上限会搁置到2020年大选之后。我台记者丽莎·德雅尔丹像往常一样，会为我们解析这件事情。丽莎，这里有很多内容吧？
丽莎·德雅尔丹：有很多内容。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：请为我们具体解析一下。协议的内容有什么？没有包括哪方面的内容？
丽莎·德雅尔丹：没问题。咱们先从一些大数字说起。首先，阿姆纳，协议提高了2年的债务上限。这是目前已经确认的一项财政危机。这是好事。此外，现在，在美国法律中做了10%的预算缩减，这是政府大多数机关都要面临的，无论是军事机关还是非军事机关。该协议把这些预算缩减一起去掉了，我来给大家分享一下协议的主要内容。我们来看一下目前的开支情况，可以分为国防开支和非国防开支，而且国防的开支略微增多。该预算协议的主要内容是把这两项开支都增加了一点。阿姆纳，这点很重要，因为目前我们处于财政赤字阶段。那么，通过这项协议，共和党可以获得给更多的经费用于国防事务，而民主党则可以获得更多的经费用于非国防事务。但此举对所有人来说意味着赤字幅度更大了。也同时意味着9月的政府再次出现政府停摆的可能性虽然不是特别高，但依然有停摆的风险。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：所以，风险还是没能完全移除的。
丽莎·德雅尔丹：没错。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：但只是风险没那么高，好的，明白。协议还涉及到了很多数字吧？
丽莎·德雅尔丹：没错。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：这也提醒了我们，为什么这些数字很重要呢？
丽莎·德雅尔丹：这正是我所兴奋的点。因为开支方面，所有人都认为太过书呆子话了，但这正是政府触动人心的一种主要途径，而且也会影响这个国家的走向。比如，这里有几个例子，军方需要这份为期2年的预算指导方案来获得稳定和一些规划，这对大部分政府机关而言也是如此。这很有可能意味着部队和其他政府公务员会提高工资。这也是美国历史上手笔最大的开支法案之一。此外，阿姆纳，我还想说，从另一方面来看，会增加近1.7万亿美元的债务，而目前的债务已达到史上最高纪录——22万亿美元。所以，基本上，国会是在做一个非常简单的短期决策，但却加剧了长期的问题。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：丽莎，你之前也报道过类似的问题。值得注意的是，关于预算的争论之前就曾导致政府停摆。
丽莎·德雅尔丹：是这样的。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：那没有并没有发生。所以这是一个征兆，表明美国政府的两党之间进入了新时期吗？
丽莎·德雅尔丹：我希望是这样。还是有一些希望的，我也会关注这方面的进展。但从某种程度来说，我认为这并不是一种和解，因为两党只是做了两全其美的事情。你得到1000亿美元，我也得到1000亿美元。这更像是合作，而不像是和解。不过，阿姆纳，还是有一些希望的，因为财政部部长穆钦和民主党议长南希·佩洛西找到了一种方法，不需要像演电视剧一样走下去，让重大协议既能通过国会的审批，也能让总统毫不犹豫地审批通过。这对每个人来说都是难以想象的，包括美国政府自己。这件事意义重大，穆钦找到了方法，让总统能毫不犹豫地审批通过。这就是未来的希望所在。
阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：我们会将这件事看做希望。以上就是今天的要点。丽莎·德雅尔丹，非常感谢。
丽莎·德雅尔丹：很乐于为大家报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
