US President Barack Obama said Tuesday's elections, in which Republicans won control of the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate, signaled that Americans were frustrated with the pace of economic recovery.

He said Democrats and Republicans must now find common ground so they can solve problems confronting the country.

"Clearly too many Americans haven't felt that progress yet and they told us that," Obama told a news conference at the White House yesterday.

"I am very eager to sit down with members of both parties and figure out where we can move forward," Obama said.

"The election underscores for me that I've got to do a better job, just like everybody else in Washington does," Obama said.

"I think I have to take direct responsibility that we have not made as much progress as we need to make," he said.

Republicans vowed to roll back some of Obama's biggest policy initiatives such as health care reformyesterday, a day after winning control of the House of Representatives and weakening Democrats' Senate majority.

Tuesday's elections delivered a stinging blow to Obama and his Democrats, reflecting Americans' anxiety about their livelihoods and anger about the economy, with unemployment hovering around 10 percent. The outcome was the House's biggest party turnover in more than 70 years.

Obama now faces the potential for legislative gridlock that could stymie his agenda in the final half of his term. Even with his Democrats in control of both chambers of Congress, he spent his first two years battling to pass legislation.

Hours after the Republicans' win, Republican Representative John Boehner, who is destined to become the House leader in January, claimed a voter mandate to roll back the Obama administration's health care overhaul, calling it a "monstrosity."

Trying to do that, however, was likely to prove futile with Democrats still in control of the Senate. Obama also still holds his veto power and the Republicans do not have sufficient numbers to override.

Boehner pledged that Republicans will use their new House majority to seek a "smaller, less costly, and more accountable government." He said he hoped Obama would join them.

"We hope he is willing to work with us on these priorities. But as I have said, our new majority will be the voice of the American people," Boehner said at a news conference.

The elections were also the biggest test yet of the two-year-old ultraconservative Tea Party movement. It produced a crop of Republican candidates, and some won key races.

Incomplete returns showed the Republican Party picked up at least 60 House seats and led for four more, far in excess of what was needed for a majority. About two dozen races remained too close to call.

Republicans also gained at least six Senate seats - among them were Tea Party favorites Rand Paul in Kentucky, Mike Lee in Utah and Marco Rubio in Florida.

All 435 seats in the House were on Tuesday's ballot, plus 37 in the Senate. Early this morning, the Republicans had 239 House seats while Democrats had 184.

• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• election [i´lekʃən] n.选举；选择 (初中英语单词)
• responsibility [ri,spɔnsə´biliti] n.责任(心)；职责；任务 (初中英语单词)
• reform [ri´fɔ:m] v.&n.改革；改良；革除 (初中英语单词)
• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• legislation [,ledʒis´leiʃən] n.立法；法规 (初中英语单词)
• costly [´kɔstli] a.昂贵的；费用大的 (初中英语单词)
• willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)
• excess [´ekses] n.超过 a.过分的 (初中英语单词)
• florida [´flɔridə] n.佛罗里达 (初中英语单词)
• senate [´senit] n.参议院；上院 (高中英语单词)
• recovery [ri´kʌvəri] n.重获；获得；恢复 (高中英语单词)
• unemployment [,ʌnim´plɔimənt] n.失业；失业人数 (高中英语单词)
• potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)
• legislative [´ledʒislətiv] a.立法的 (高中英语单词)
• kentucky [kən´tʌki] n.肯塔基 (高中英语单词)
• ballot [´bælət] n.&v.投票；抽签 (高中英语单词)
• policy [´pɔlisi] n.政策；权谋；保险单 (英语四级单词)
• winning [´winiŋ] n.&a.胜利(的) (英语四级单词)
• outcome [´autkʌm] n.结果；后果；成果 (英语四级单词)
• republican [ri´pʌblikən] a.共和国的 n.共和论者 (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• futile [´fju:tail] a.无用的，无益的 (英语四级单词)
• mandate [´mændeit] n.训令；委任 vt.托管 (英语六级单词)
• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)
• incomplete [,inkəm´pli:t] a.不完全的，未完成的 (英语六级单词)