VOA常速英语:Clinton Pledges Early Action On Free Trade Agreements

短语讲解：

1. The deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea were signed by the Bush administration in 2006 and 2007, with an expectation of swift ratification that would sweep away trade barriers and boost employment in the United States and the three other countries.

sweep away清除
例句：Newspaper editorials spoke of the need to sweep away corruption.
报纸社论论述了清除腐败的必要性。
trade barriers贸易避垒

2. “We have worked with our Panamanian and Colombian partners to address key concerns and forge broader bipartisan support in the Congress, just as we did with the South Korean free-trade agreement," she said.

do with 处理;对待
例句：I don't know what to do with it.
我不知道这件事该怎么处理。

3. And Colombia has already taken important steps to implement this plan, and we are working hard to execute the next phase by June 15th,” she added

take steps采取措施
例句：They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.
他们采取措施阻止流感的传播。

4. The Obama administration in recent days has won support from farm-state legislators for the South Korea free-trade deal by agreeing to seek consultations with that country on market access for U.S. beef exports.

agree to同意, 赞成, 同意照办
例句：I agree to undertake the work.
我同意担任这一工作。

5. There are still too few people of means paying their fair share of taxes to their government in order to support services for those who will otherwise be mired in generational poverty.

in order to为了…
例句：Most people have to work in order to live .
大多数人必须工作以维持生活。

6. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela earlier told the gathering the United States remains very concerned about what he termed the “authoritarian tendencies” of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez.

concern about使(自己)关心…
例句：There is no need for you to concern yourself about where I was last night.
你没必要关心我昨晚在哪儿。

7. Where maybe four or five years ago a lot of people perceived that there was sort of an ascendancy of the ALBA group that they had a very significant strong voice in much of the hemisphere, we have seen in fact a greater degree of isolation.

sort of有几分地
例句：I feel sort of cold.
我感到有点冷。