新闻万花筒：VOA视角之奥巴马联邦预算5850亿美元用于国防占15%

Spiiker新闻万花筒，VOA新闻，带您看世界，听世界，

感受世界的点点滴滴。

练听力，提能力，小编与您共努力！

Defense Swallows 15 Percent of Obama’s Budget Plan

President Barack Obama's $4 trillion budget includes $585 billion to sustain his national security and defense strategies. That's nearly 15 percent of the overall budget, and a request of $25 billion more than last year's enacted defense budget.

Protecting the United States and its interests is an expensive undertaking, to the tune of $534 billion for a defense base budget and an additional $51 billion to cover overseas war funds.

Obama has called on Congress to approve his budget in its entirety.

“This is one of our most basic and most important responsibilities as a government, so I am calling on Congress to get this done,” said Obama.

The political problem is that this $585 billion request is much higher than the $499 billion spending cap Congress set in 2011.

Ryan Crotty, deputy director for Defense Budget Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, thinks the 2016 defense budget proposal is meant to correct for a few years of insufficient funding.

“Acting on what I think seems to be a broad consensus in both chambers and the executive that defense spending as it has been in the last couple of years is too low,” said Crotty.

Too low given the current global threat environment. The funding includes more than $5 billion to counter Islamic State operations, through airstrikes and the training of Iraqi forces and moderate Syrian rebels.

It also includes about $800 million for a European Reassurance Initiative, which funds training exercises with allies in Europe amid Russian aggression in Ukraine.

And while the U.S. has completed its combat mission in Afghanistan, there are still billions in the budget to continue the support mission.

“The drawdown, we’re talking about the boots on the ground, is not a linear drawdown for dollars. Even though our troops are inside the wire doing train, advise and assist and helping them build their force, we’re still out there trying to make sure those troops in the garrison are safe,” said Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay, Director of Force Structure, Resources and Assesment on the Pentagon's joint staff.

The Navy would receive a lot of the proposed budget increase, with billions of dollars for new ships to help bolster a shift to the Pacific region.

Pentagon officials explain the majority of the budget is for investing in the future.

“We have three years of built-up demand on modernization that we haven’t been able to get to,” said Undersecretary of Defense Bob Work.

“If we don’t do that today, we’re not going to stay ahead of our potential adversaries,” said Ramsay.

In addition to new air and sea equipment, these investments include maintenance on nuclear facilities and advancements in cyber security.

词汇解析

identify

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

vt.鉴定；识别，辨认出，认出；认明；把…看成一样

vi.认同；感同身受

参考例句

用作及物动词 (vt.)

The test can identify the presence of abnormalities in the unborn child.

这项化验能鉴定胎儿是否有不正常现象。

用作不及物动词 (vi.)

I identified with the heroine of the novel.

我与小说中的那个女主人公感同身受。

************************

remains

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

n.剩余物；遗迹；遗体

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

After the wheat crop has been gathered, many farmers burn the remains and plough the ash into the soil, so as to enrich it.

小麦收割完成后，农夫们把剩余物烧掉，然后用犁把灰埋入地里，使土地更肥沃。

Choi's remains true today for cremation.

崔真实的遗体今天进行火葬。

************************

invest

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.投资；投入

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

I won't invest my money in his company.

我不会把我的钱投资到他的公司。

Everyone should invest some time in community service.

每个人都应该花些时间在社区服务上。

************************

exchange

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.交换；兑换

n.交换；交易所；兑换；交战

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

We exchanged our opinions about the event at the meeting.

在会上，我们就此事交换了意见。

用作名词 (n.)

Gold shares jumped at the Stock Exchange yesterday.

证券交易所黄金股票昨天又大幅度上涨了。

************************

spread

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

v.传播；展开；散布；铺开；伸展；涂撒

n.范围；传播；差额；幅度；盛宴

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

The radio spread the news as soon as the accident happened .

事故一发生,收音机就把这条消息传播出去了。

用作名词 (n.)

Tv has become a more powerful vehicle for the spread of news.

电视已成为影响力更大的传播消息的媒介。

************************

strengthen

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

v.加强；变坚固

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

He has been brought in to strengthen the defence.

已请他来加强后卫力量。

The current strengthened as we moved down the river.

我们顺流而下时，水流更急了。

************************

federal

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.联邦制的；联邦政府的；同盟的

n.联邦主义者；同盟盟友

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Switzerland is a federal republic.

瑞士是联邦制的共和国。

Expenditures by the Federal Government have been steadily pared.

联邦政府的开支正在逐渐削减。

See more information, you can visit us

英语口语测试  http://www.spiiker.com/daily/
 
在线学英语口语 http://www.spiiker.com/english-plaza.jsp