This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Most of the news in Washington this week was about the budget talks to prevent a shutdown of many government services at midnight Friday. But this week, President Obama also announced his plans to seek re-election in November of next year.
本周来自华盛顿的大部分新闻是关于预算谈判，以防止周五午夜政府众多服务关闭。但本周，奥巴马总统还宣布了明年11月寻求连任的竞选计划。
In an e-mail to supporters, Mr. Obama said "the race may not reach full speed for a year or more." But he said the work of building the campaign "must start today."
在写给支持者的一封邮件中，奥巴马表示，竞选无法在接下来的一年多时间里一直全速进行，但竞选筹备工作必须立刻着手进行。
Some of that work will depend on how many jobs are created in the months ahead. Mr. Obama welcomed last Friday's report that the United States economy added two hundred sixteen thousand jobs in March. The unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of one percent for the second straight month.
其中一些备选工作将取决于未来数月能创造多少就业岗位。奥巴马对上周五的一份报告表示欢迎，该报告称美国经济三月份增加了21.6万个工作岗位。失业率连续第2个月下降0.1个百分点。
The Labor Department says unemployment is now 8.8 percent, the lowest in two years. And some economists say this spring may be the start of better news to come. Consumer spending has increased eight months in a row.
美国劳工部表示，目前失业率是8.8％，创两年来的新低。一些经济学家表示，今年春季可能是好消息的开始。消费者支出也连续8个月上涨。
Stephen Hess is a political scientist who studies the presidency at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
斯蒂芬·赫斯（Stephen Hess）是华盛顿布鲁克林研究所一名研究总统任期的政治学家。
STEPHEN HESS: "The next election will, more than anything else, depend on employment in the United States."
赫斯：“下届选举将主要取决于美国的就业情况。”
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis called attention to the fact that the economy has added jobs for twelve months in a row.
劳工部部长希尔达·索利斯(Hilda Solis)提请大家注意这样一个事实：美国就业岗位已经连续十二个月增加。
HILDA SOLIS: "We need to be reminded that we've added jobs -- 1.5 million private sector jobs, and that, I think, it's right where we need to be. But we need to continue to not lose sight of where we need to go to increase opportunities for people to get employed in new jobs."
索利斯：“我们需要注意，我们已经增加了150万个私营就业岗位。我认为这正是我们所需要的。但是我们不能忽略，我们需要继续为人们获得新工作创造机会。
This week, President Obama filled a top job in his party. He chose Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to head the Democratic National Committee. She replaces Tim Kaine who plans to run for the Senate from Virginia next year.
本周，奥巴马委任了党内一个高级职位。他提名佛州众议员斯库茨(Debbie Wasserman SChultz)出任民主党全国委员会主席。斯库茨将接替计划明年竞选弗吉尼亚州参议员的前主席凯恩(Tim Kaine)。
Among Republicans, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty recently formed a committee to explore a presidential campaign. Several other Republicans are also considering races for their party's nomination.
在共和党方面，前明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·普兰提(Tim Pawlenty)最近组建了一个委员会寻求竞选总统。另外几名共和党人也在角逐党内提名。
The latest jobs report showed that thirteen and a half million Americans remained unemployed in March. Another concern is that oil prices remain over one hundred dollars a barrel. High energy prices could threaten the recovery from the recession.
最新的就业报告显示，三月份仍有1350万美国人未能就业。另一个担忧是，石油价格维持每桶100美元以上。高居不下的能源价格可能威胁到美国经济从衰退中复苏。
This week, Portugal became the latest member of the European Union with heavy debts to request emergency loans. Opposition parties refused to accept budget cuts proposed by Prime Minister Jose Socrates two weeks ago.
本周，葡萄牙成为最新一个背负沉重债务，请求紧急援助的欧盟国家。反对派拒绝接受总理若泽·苏格拉底 (Jose Socrates)两周前提出的预算削减方案。
Portugal's borrowing costs rose sharply Wednesday as it sold almost one and a half billion dollars in short-term securities. Portugal may seek more than one hundred billion dollars in loans, joining Greece and Ireland in receiving aid.
周三，葡萄牙出售了近15亿美元的短期债券后借贷成本急剧上升。葡萄牙可加入到希腊和爱尔兰接受援助的行列，寻求超过1000亿美元的贷款。