如何省时高效地突破英文，突破四六级，是我一直在思考的问题。

     最近在教学中发现，最适合同时提高同学们听力、阅读、词汇能力的方法是超精听英美名人就社会各种话题发表的演讲。为什么呢？如果听或者看老友记之类的节目，对提高口语能力很有帮助，但也仅限于此。而演讲所使用的语言介于口语和书面语之间，其中大量词汇、句型在口语中和书面语中都可以使用。而四六级词汇基本上都是英美人士在生活中常使用的，据我观察，四六级词汇和各类演讲中所涉及的词汇高度重合。另外，演讲文本的语言难度对大部分中国学生来说即使看原文都不一定完全看懂。 所以说，深入地学习演讲文章，应当是同学们学习中一个非常重要的突破口。

     设想有这样一本书，收集了几十篇各类话题的演讲，原文之后有对重要四六级词汇的用法，句型等的精讲，不仅仅对同学们突破四六级，而且对整个英文的学习都是很有帮助的。有很多英文网站提供了各类听力材料，书店里也有很多新闻听力的书，但工作都做的不是很细，最多只是简单地解释一下。春节的时候我曾在点点提到有出版社约稿词汇书，我也一直在思考出什么形式的才能对同学们有更大的帮助，而不是出几本书滥竽充数。今天提到的这样的方式将会是其中的一种，材料已经收集完毕，正在写作中，夏天会面市。

     我在后面附上一篇Bush的演讲原稿，对其中的一些重要四六级词汇作了标注，供同学们参考。同学们可以这样学习，先不看原文听两三遍，然后可以一句一句地听写，再与原文对比。如果没时间，可以直接超精读原文，从词汇的用法，搭配，句型入手。最后要达到什么样的程度才算基本学习到位了呢？在不看原文的基础上，能够听懂每个单词，每句话，其中的重点词汇会运用。

    从现在就行动起来吧！

    美国总统周电台演讲
Radio report
     President Discusses Social Security in Radio Address

    THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In my State of the Union address, I discussed the need to act to strengthen and save Social Security. Since then, I have traveled to eight states and spoken with tens of thousands of you about my ideas. I have reminded you that Social Security was one of the great moral successes of the 20th century. And for those born before 1950, I have assured you that the Social Security system will not change in any way, and you will receive your checks.

    I've also warned our younger workers that the government has made promises it cannot pay for with the current pay-as-you-go system. Social Security was created decades ago for a very different era. In 1950, about 16 workers paid into the system for every one person drawing benefits. Today, we have only about three workers for each beneficiary, and over the next few decades, baby boomers like me will retire, people will be living longer and benefits are scheduled to increase dramatically. Eventually, there will be just two workers per beneficiary. With every passing year, fewer workers will be paying ever-higher benefits to ever-larger numbers of retirees.

     So here is the result: 13 years from now, in 2018, Social Security will be paying out more than it collects in payroll taxes; and every year afterward will bring a new and larger shortfall. For example, in the year 2027, the government will somehow have to come up with an extra $200 billion a year to keep the system afloat. By the year 2033, the annual shortfall would be more than $300 billion a year. And by the year 2042, the entire system would be bankrupt. If we do not act now to avert that outcome, the only solutions would be dramatically higher taxes, massive new borrowing or sudden and severe cuts in Social Security benefits or other government programs.

     To keep the promise of Social Security alive for our children and grandchildren, we need to fix the system once and for all. Fixing Social Security permanently will require a candid review of the options. In recent years, many people have offered suggestions, such as limiting benefits for wealthy retirees; indexing benefits to prices, instead of wages; increasing the retirement age; or changing the benefit formulas and creating disincentives for early collection of Social Security benefits. All these ideas are on the table.

     I will work with members of Congress and listen to any good idea that does not include raising payroll taxes. But we cannot pretend that the problem does not exist. Social Security will go broke when some of our younger workers get ready to retire, and that is a fact. And if you're a younger person, you ought to be asking your elected officials, what are you going to do about it -- because every year we wait, the problem becomes worse for our children.

    And as we fix Social Security permanently, we must make it a better deal for younger workers by allowing them to set aside part of their payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts. The accounts would be voluntary. The money would go into a conservative mix of bond and stock funds that would have the opportunity to earn a higher rate of return than anything the current system could provide. A young person who earns an average of $35,000 a year over his or her career would have nearly a quarter million dollars saved in his or her own retirement account. And that money would provide a nest egg to supplement that worker's traditional Social Security check, or to pass on to his or her children. Best of all, it would replace the empty promises of the current system with real assets of ownership.

    Reforming Social Security will not be easy, but if we approach this debate with courage and honesty, I am confident we will succeed, because our children's retirement security is more important than partisan politics.

    Thank you for listening.

 END