Happy New Year, everybody. I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That's because of what we've accomplished1 together over the past seven.
Seven years ago, our businesses were losing 800,000 jobs a month. They've now created jobs for 69 straight months, driving the unemployment rate from a high of 10% down to 5%. Seven years ago, too many Americans went without health insurance. We've now covered more than 17 million people, dropping the rate of the uninsured below 10% for the very first time. Seven years ago, we were addicted2 to foreign oil. Now our oil imports have plummeted3, our clean energy industry is booming, and America is a global leader in the fight against climate change. Seven years ago, there were only two states in America with marriage equality. And now there are 50.
All of this progress is because of you. And we've got so much more to do. So my New Year's resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business as much as I can. And I'll be more frequently asking for your help. That's what this American project is all about.
That's especially true for one piece of unfinished business, that's our epidemic4 of gun violence. Last month, we remembered the third anniversary of Newtown. This Friday, I'll be thinking about my friend Gabby Giffords, five years into her recovery from the shooting in Tucson. And all across America, survivors5 of gun violence and those who lost a child, a parent, a spouse6 to gun violence are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day.
And yet Congress still hasn't done anything to prevent what happened to them from happening to other families. Three years ago, a bipartisan, commonsense7 bill would have required background checks for virtually everyone who buys a gun. Keep in mind, this policy was supported by some 90% of the American people. It was supported by a majority of NRA households. But the gun lobby mobilized against it. And the Senate blocked it.
Since then, tens of thousands of our fellow Americans have been mowed8 down by gun violence. Tens of thousands. Each time, we're told that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre9, or the one before that, so we shouldn't do anything.
We know that we can't stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something-anything-to protect our kids from gun violence?
A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence. And on Monday, I'll meet with our Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options. Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing. I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen; who share my belief that the Second Amendment10 guarantees a right to bear arms; and who share my belief we can protect that right while keeping an irresponsible, dangerous few from inflicting11 harm on a massive scale.
1 accomplished
adj.有才藝的；有造詣的；達(dá)到了的
參考例句：
Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.虧得你們幫忙,我們才提前完成了任務(wù)。 Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通過散熱器完成多余熱量的排出。
2 addicted
adj.沉溺于....的，對(duì)...上癮的
參考例句：
He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17歲的時(shí)候?qū)Ｂ逡蛏狭税a。 She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了愛情小說。
3 plummeted
v.垂直落下，驟然跌落( plummet的過去式和過去分詞 )
參考例句：
Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票價(jià)格暴跌到歷史最低點(diǎn)。 A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飛機(jī)一頭栽向地面。 來自《簡(jiǎn)明英漢詞典》
4 epidemic
n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流傳極廣的
參考例句：
That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那種傳染病早已絕跡。 The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.當(dāng)局試圖把流行病限制在局部范圍。
5 survivors
幸存者，殘存者，生還者( survivor的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )
參考例句：
The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。 survivors clinging to a raft 緊緊抓住救生筏的幸存者
6 spouse
n.配偶(指夫或妻)
參考例句：
Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要來看她。 What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法 是什么？
7 commonsense
adj.有常識(shí)的；明白事理的；注重實(shí)際的
參考例句：
It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.這種天氣帶把傘是很自然的。 These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.這些結(jié)果只不過是按常理分析得出的事實(shí)。
8 mowed
v.刈，割( mow的過去式和過去分詞 )
參考例句：
The enemy were mowed down with machine-gun fire. 敵人被機(jī)槍的火力掃倒。 來自《現(xiàn)代英漢綜合大詞典》 Men mowed the wide lawns and seeded them. 人們割了大片草地的草，然后在上面播種。 來自辭典例句
9 massacre
n.殘殺，大屠殺；v.殘殺，集體屠殺
參考例句：
There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，這里的村民慘遭屠殺。 If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘記了大屠殺，大屠殺就有可能再次發(fā)生！
10 amendment
n.改正，修正，改善，修正案
參考例句：
The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.這項(xiàng)修正案以207票對(duì)143票被否決。 The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反對(duì)黨已經(jīng)就該議案提交了一項(xiàng)修正條款。
11 inflicting
把…強(qiáng)加給，使承受，遭受( inflict的現(xiàn)在分詞 )
參考例句：
He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意嚴(yán)重傷害他人身體。 It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不讓動(dòng)物 遭點(diǎn)罪是不可能的
學(xué)網(wǎng)站豎圖.jpg )
