美大选主题:你比四年前过得更好吗?_BEC初级作文

美大选主题:你比四年前过得更好吗?

The unemployment rate, at 8.3%, is higher under Mr. Obama than it has been for any president seeking re-election since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On its face, that bodes poorly for Mr. Obama. But considering how high it was when he took office, at 7.8%, the figure is a more nuanced indicator.

奥巴马时期的失业率为8.3%，比罗斯福（Franklin Delano Roosevelt）以来寻求连任的任何一位总统在任时的失业率都高。表面来看这似乎对奥巴马不利。但考虑到他就任时高达7.8%的失业率，这个数字就是一个更微妙的指标了。

That is because the jobless rate rose more sharply, although from lower levels, during the first terms of some re-elected presidents. Since Mr. Obama's inauguration in January 2009, it has risen half a percentage point. During George W. Bush's first 42 months in office, it rose 1.3 percentage points, from 4.2% to 5.5%; and during Richard Nixon's first term it rose more than two points, from 3.4% to 5.6%.

这是因为在某些连任总统的首任任期中，失业率增长得更剧烈，尽管本来水平就比较低。自奥巴马2009年1月就任以来，失业率增长了0.5个百分点。小布什（George W. Bush）上任后的42个月中，失业率从4.2%升至5.5%，涨了1.3个百分点；在尼克松（Richard Nixon）的第一个任期期间，失业率的涨幅超过了两个点，从3.4%升至5.6%。

Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter saw rising unemployment during what turned out to be their last year in office, and they weren't re-elected. Under Mr. Obama, the rate has stagnated in 2017-a more favorable trend than the defeated presidents' showing.