[originaltext]I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That’s b

I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That’s because of what we’ve accomplished together over the past seven.
Seven years ago, our businesses were losing 800,000 jobs a month. They’ve now created jobs for 69 straight months, driving the unemployment rate from a high of 10% down to 5%.Seven years ago, there were only two states in America with marriage equality. And now there are 50.All of this progress is because of you. And we’ve got so much more to do. So my New Year’s resolution is to move forward on our unfinished business as much as I can. And I’ll be more frequently asking for your help.
That’s especially true for one piece of unfinished business. That’s our epidemic of gun violence. This Friday, I’ll be thinking about my friend Gabby Giffords, five years into her recovery from the shooting in Tucson. And all across America, survivors of gun violence and those who lost a child, a parent, a spouse to gun violence are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day.
We know that we can’t stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something---anything---to protect our kids from gun violence?
A few months ago, I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence. And on Monday, I’ll meet with our Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options. Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing. I get letters from responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time these tragedies happen. So I know there are a bunch of us who care about this.
Change, as always, is going to take all of us. The gun lobby is loud and well organized in its defense of effortlessly available guns for anyone. The rest of us are going to have to be just as passionate and well organized in our defense of our kids. That’s the work of citizenship---to stand up and fight for the change that we seek. I hope you’ll join me in making America safer for all of our children.
Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.
16.What is the speaker’s New Year’s resolution?
17.What can be learned about the speaker’s friend Gabby?
18.What would the speaker like to take actions to do?