This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
President Obama and Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney debated each other for the first time Wednesday night. The debate was held at the University of Denver in Colorado.
美国总统奥巴马和共和党总统候选人罗姆尼周三晚上进行了首次辩论。这场辩论是在美国科罗拉多州丹佛大学举行。
Experts say the American economy is the top issue of the election campaign. And the debate centered on economic concerns.
专家们称美国经济是竞选活动的首要问题。辩论也集中于经济问题。
Mr. Obama started by noting that, when he took office, the United States was having its most severe economic crisis since the nineteen thirties. He said that, in the past thirty months, five million jobs had been created in private industry. But he admitted a lot remains to be done.
奥巴马一上来就指出，当他上台时，美国正经历着二十世纪三十年代以来最严重的经济危机。他说，在过去30个月里已经在私营行业创造了500万个工作岗位。但他也承认，还有许多工作要做。
One of the big questions of the campaign is how best to reduce the federal budget deficit. Mr. Romney has proposed lowering taxes as a way to lift economic growth. But the former Massachusetts governor sharply disagreed with Mr. Obama's descriptions of his tax cut plan.
竞选最大的问题之一是如何最好地降低联邦预算赤字。罗姆尼提出了以降低税收的方式来提振经济增长。但这位前马萨诸塞州州长严重不同意奥巴马先生对他的减税计划的表述。
"I'm not looking for a five-trillion-dollar tax cut. What I have said is I won't put in place a tax cut that adds to the deficit. That's part one. So there's no economist can say Mitt Romney's tax plan adds five trillion dollars if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan."
“我并不指望减税5万亿。我曾说，我不会推出一项增加赤字的减税方案，这是其一。所以如果我说我的税收方案不会增加赤字，没有哪个经济学家可以说，罗姆尼的税收方案会增加5万亿美元（赤字）。”
Mr. Romney also said he would not reduce the share of taxes paid by high income individuals. Mr. Obama, however, said his opponent's plan for changing the tax system would not work.
罗姆尼也表示，他不会减少高收入个体缴纳税款的份额。然而奥巴马称其对手改变税制的方案不会起到作用。
"The fact is, if you are lowering the rates the way you described, Governor, then it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect high-income individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class."
“事实是，州长先生（指罗姆尼），如果用你所说的方式降低税率，那么不可能会有办法光影响高收入个体，而既不增加赤字，又不增加中产阶级负担。”
The candidates also debated the president's health care program, which some Americans call "Obamacare." Mr. Romney said it would hurt the economy and cost jobs.
两位候选人还讨论了被一些美国人称为“Obamacare”的医保方案。罗姆尼表示，它只会伤害经济，损失就业岗位。
The president said that when he took office, problems in the nation's health care system were just as urgent as the jobless rate. He said health costs drove government spending and troubled businesses and families.
奥巴马总统表示，当他上任后，美国医保体系的问题和失业率同样紧迫。他说，医疗费用促使政府支出，并使企业和家庭陷入困境。
"It was not just that small businesses were seeing costs skyrocket and they could not get affordable coverage even if they wanted to provide it to their employees. It was not just that this was the biggest driver of our federal deficit, our overall health care costs. But it was families who worried about going bankrupt if they got sick."
“不只是小企业看到成本飞涨，即使他们愿意也无力向员工提供医保。医保不仅是联邦赤字和整体医疗成本的最大驱动因素，还是家庭生病后担心破产的因素。”
In closing, Mr. Obama said he wants to build on the strengths of his first four years in the White House. Mr. Romney said re-electing the president would hurt the middle class. He promised to replace the country's new health care program and to create millions of new jobs.
最后，奥巴马表示，他希望依赖自己入主白宫四年的优势。罗姆尼表示，再次选举奥巴马为总统会伤害中产阶级。他承诺更换美国的新医保方案，并创造数百万新岗位。