写”改革”类话题，你还在用 change 和 improve 吗？

高考常考”社会发展”、“教育改革”，雅思常考”政府投资”、“经济政策”——这些话题都需要描述变革的过程和面临的阻力。大多数学生写到这类话题就只剩下 The government wants to change the system 或 The plan is very important。

今天这篇 FT 文章讲的是美国众议院以220-212票通过拜登3.5万亿美元支出方案框架。题材虽是美国政治，但其中的表达——放到任何一篇关于”推进改革/面临阻力/最终突破”的中文语境作文里都通用。

The US House of Representatives has approved the framework for Joe Biden’s 3.5tn domestic spending package after Democrats reached a deal to advance the legislation following days of tense talks within the party.

The 220-212 vote on the so-called budget resolution marked a milestone on the slow but steady march of Biden’s ambitious first-term economic agenda, which calls for huge investments in the US social safety net including education, child care and green energy.

Biden has also vowed to revamp the economy more broadly with investments worth trillions of dollars to redress longstanding structural deficiencies and make the recovery from the pandemic more even.

While some Republicans have backed Biden’s 1tn plan for investments in physical infrastructure, they remained opposed to the rest of his economic agenda, leaving Democrats to pass the 3.5tn package alone with their exceedingly slim majorities in Congress.

This has in effect given veto rights on the plan to each faction of the Democratic party, leading to growing intraparty spats over the legislation that party leaders have been trying to patch up.

美国众议院批准了拜登3.5万亿美元国内支出方案的框架。此前，民主党人经过几天的紧张党内谈判后达成协议。

这项以220票对212票通过的预算决议，标志着拜登雄心勃勃的第一任期经济议程在缓慢但稳步向前的旅程中达到了一个里程碑。

拜登还誓言要通过数万亿美元的投资对经济进行更广泛的改革，纠正长期存在的结构性缺陷，使复苏更加平稳。

一些共和党人支持1万亿美元的基础设施计划，但反对经济议程的其他部分。民主党只能凭借在国会中极其微薄的多数优势通过该方案。

这实际上赋予了民主党各派对计划的否决权，导致党内争执加剧，领导人一直试图弥合分歧。

精选表达

1. a milestone on the slow but steady march of — ……道路上的里程碑

原文出处： “The House passage marked a milestone on the slow but steady march of Biden’s ambitious first-term economic agenda.”

为什么好： 这个短语的精妙之处在于三个层次：

  • milestone — 里程碑（比 important step 高级十倍）
  • slow but steady — 缓慢但稳步（体现过程的艰难与坚持）
  • march of — 行进的步伐（赋予进程一种方向感与力量感）

组合起来，比干巴巴的 an important step in the process 生动得多。

❌ 学生初版

This is an important step in the development of the economy.

✅ 升级版

The new policy marks a milestone on the slow but steady march of China’s economic transformation.

迁移练习：

  • 教育改革成果：The reforms represent a milestone on the slow but steady march of educational modernisation.
  • 环保进程：The agreement is a milestone on the slow but steady march towards a greener future.

2. vow to revamp — 誓言进行全面改造

原文出处： “Biden has also vowed to revamp the economy more broadly”

为什么好： vow 比 promise 更正式、更有决心感；revamp 比简单的 change 或 reform 更具体——它暗示从里到外的改造更新。两者结合，比 promise to change 有力得多。

❌ 学生初版

The government promised to change the education system.

✅ 升级版

The minister vowed to revamp the education system to meet modern demands.

迁移练习：

  • 公司转型：The CEO vowed to revamp the company’s outdated IT infrastructure.
  • 城市更新：The mayor vowed to revamp the city’s public transport network.

3. redress longstanding structural deficiencies — 纠正长期存在的结构性缺陷

原文出处： “Biden has also vowed to … redress longstanding structural deficiencies”

为什么好： 这个短语连用三个高级词汇：

  • redress — 纠正（比 fix / solve 正式得多，常用于法律和政策语境）
  • longstanding — 长期存在的（比 long-term / old 更地道）
  • structural deficiencies — 结构性的缺陷（structural 是一个强大的学术词，可以修饰 problem / issue / change）

❌ 学生初版

The government wants to fix old problems in the system.

✅ 升级版

The plan aims to redress longstanding structural deficiencies in the healthcare system.

迁移练习：

  • 经济转型：The policies are designed to redress longstanding structural deficiencies in the manufacturing sector.
  • 教育改革：The new curriculum addresses longstanding structural deficiencies in the way students learn languages.

4. exceedingly slim majorities — 极其微薄的多数优势

原文出处： “Democrats to pass the bill alone with their exceedingly slim majorities”

为什么好： slim majority 本身就是固定搭配（微弱多数），加上 exceedingly 让程度更强。议论文中写”优势微弱”或”勉强通过”时，这个词组比 only had a few more votes 简洁且高级。

❌ 学生初版

The party only had a few more votes than the opposition.

✅ 升级版

The government relied on exceedingly slim majorities to push through the controversial bill.

迁移练习：

  • 选举险胜：The candidate won the election with an exceedingly slim majority of just 0.3 per cent.
  • 提案勉强通过：The proposal was approved by an exceedingly slim majority, reflecting deep divisions within the committee.

5. in effect give veto rights to — 实际上赋予了否决权

原文出处： “This has in effect given veto rights on the plan to each faction of the Democratic party”

为什么好： in effect（实际上/事实上）比简单的 actually 更正式精准。give veto rights to（赋予否决权）形象地说明了一方对决策的阻止能力。在学习”分权制衡”或”利益集团阻碍改革”类话题时，这个表达非常实用。

❌ 学生初版

Every group can stop the plan.

✅ 升级版

The structure of the committee in effect gave veto rights to each member, making consensus difficult to achieve.

迁移练习：

  • 保守派阻碍改革：The system in effect gave veto rights to traditional stakeholders, slowing down innovation.
  • 家长委员会有实际否决权：The parents’ association in effect has veto rights over major changes to the school curriculum.

6. patch up divisions — 弥合分歧

原文出处： “growing intraparty spats over the legislation that party leaders have been trying to patch up”

为什么好： patch up 本义是”缝补（衣服/轮胎）“，用来形容”弥合分歧”时，带出一种临时补救、不完美的修复的意味——比 solve the disagreement 更生动、更真实。divisions 比 disagreements 更正式，常用于描述团体内部的分裂。

❌ 学生初版

The leaders tried to solve the disagreements.

✅ 升级版

The committee worked late into the night to patch up divisions between different interest groups.

迁移练习：

  • 党内分歧：The party leadership made several concessions to patch up divisions ahead of the election.
  • 家庭矛盾：The family gathering was an opportunity to patch up divisions that had grown over the years.

升级段落对比

学生原版：

The government wants to make big changes to the economy. They promised to solve old problems. Some people support them but others don’t. It was very hard to get the law passed because the government only had a small advantage. Different groups in the party are fighting.

升级版（使用本课6个表达）：

The government vowed to revamp the economy to redress longstanding structural deficiencies. The reform bill represented a milestone on the slow but steady march of national transformation. However, with only exceedingly slim majorities in parliament, the ruling party had to balance competing interests. The fragmented coalition in effect gave veto rights to each faction, forcing leaders to constantly patch up divisions just to keep the legislation moving forward.

总结

表达用法替代什么
a milestone on the march of描述进程的重要节点an important step in
vow to revamp誓言全面改造promise to change
redress longstanding structural deficiencies纠正长期结构性问题fix old problems
exceedingly slim majorities极其微弱的优势only a few more votes
in effect give veto rights to实际上的否决权let someone stop things
patch up divisions弥合分歧solve disagreements

课后练习： 用今天学的表达，写一段话讨论”某次改革（或学校项目）如何艰难地推进并最终通过”。

原文来源：《金融时报》双语阅读 | 美国众议院民主党人推进3.5万亿美元支出方案（FT #195）