1、标题：voa慢速英语:奥巴马公布刺激经济增长新措施对应音频：0910a.mp3听力内容：Obama Urges Steps to Strengthen EconomyThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.This week, President Obama proposed new measures to lift the economy. The central bank in its latest report said there was continued growth in the past several weeks, b
2、ut with widespread signs of slowing.Congressional elections are November second. One new survey showed that forty-nine percent of likely voters think Republicans should control Congress. Other polls find that about sixty percent of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction.Presiden
3、t Obama gave a speech Wednesday near Cleveland, Ohio. He proposed a tax plan for businesses that make capital improvements, like buying new equipment.BARACK OBAMA: And Im proposing that all American businesses should be allowed to write off all the investment they do in 2011. And this will help smal
4、l businesses upgrade their plants and equipment, and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in places like Cleveland and Toledo and Dayton.Mr. Obama also proposed to permanently extend a tax credit for research and development.And on Monday
5、 he offered a plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads, rails and runways. He said it would create jobs and improve transportation. The plan would cost fifty billion dollars, but he promised it would not add to the budget deficit over time.The president spoke in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
6、. Both speeches were in the Midwest, an area hit hard by the recession.He said almost every Republican in Congress is saying no to his ideas. But retiring Senator George Voinovich of Ohio tells the Washington Post that he plans to help push a bill through the Senate next week. That bill, supported b
7、y the president, contains measures to help small businesses.Still, there is disagreement over the future of the tax cuts approved under President George W. Bush. These are set to end this December. President Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for families that earn less than two hundred fifty thousa
8、nd dollars a year.But John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, told ABC News:JOHN BOEHNER: You can’t have a strong economy if you’re raising taxes on the very people you expect to invest in our economy to begin hiring people again.Republicans
9、oppose ending the tax cuts for higher earners. They say it would hurt small businesses. Democrats argue that few small businesses earn enough for their taxes to go up.Congress passed a big stimulus bill shortly after the president took office last year. But there is little that his newest proposals
10、could do to help the economy before November.And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iTunes at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.这里是VOA特别英语经济报道。本周，奥巴马总统提出了促进经济增长的新措施。中英银行在最新的报告中称，过去几周，美国经济继续保持增长，但是却有“广泛的迹象”显示增长
11、速度放缓。国会选举将于11月2日举行。一项新的调查显示，49%可能的选民认为共和党应该控制国会。其他民意调查发现，大约60%的美国人认为美国正在朝着错误的方向前进。周三，奥巴马总统在俄亥俄州克利夫兰附近发表了讲话。他提出了小型企业税收计划，以改善资本状况，例如购买新的设备。奥巴马：“我建议，所有美国企业都应该能够在2011年之前完成所有的投资。这会帮助小型企业更新自己的工厂和设备，鼓励大型公司不再观望，开始将资本投资在克利夫兰，托莱多，代顿等地方。”奥巴马总统还建议永久性地延长研究和发展项目的税收减免。周一，他提出对美国的道路，铁路和河床进行重建和更新的计划。他说，该计划将创造就业机会，改善交
12、通状况。该计划将耗资500亿美元，但是他承诺长期之内，该项目不会增加财政赤字。奥巴马总统还在威斯康辛州的密尔沃基发表了讲话。两次讲话都是在中西部地区进行，这里是受经济衰退影响最严重的地区。他说，国会几乎所有共和党都反对他的计划。但是退休的俄亥俄州参议员George Voinovich告诉华盛顿邮报，他计划下周在参议院帮助推行一项法案。该法案由奥巴马总统支持，包含帮助小型企业的措施。但是，关于布什总统时期通过的税收减免政策的未来也有所争议。该政策将于12月份结束。奥巴马总统希望为年收入不到25万美元的家庭延长税收减免期限。但是参议院共和党少数派领袖，俄亥俄州的John Boehner告诉ABC新闻：JOHN BOEHNER：“如果你希望这些人投资于我们的经济，从而开始雇佣新的员工，而你又提高这些人的税收，我们拥有不可能拥有强健的经济。”共和党人反对终止对高收入人群的税收减免。他们说，这将对小型企业造成伤害。民主党辩称，很少有小型企业赚的钱足够提高税收。奥巴马总统去年执政后不久，国会通过了大规模的刺激经济法案。但是，在11月份之前，他的最新提案几乎不能采取任何措施来帮助经济增长。
