Obama Leads Romney in Hypothetical Matchup

 　　A new poll indicates U.S. President Barack Obama would beat Republican presidential front-runner Mitt¹ Romney in a hypothetical election matchup.

　　The ABC News-Washington Post survey shows President Obama ahead 51 percent to 45 percent among registered voters, and 52 percent to 43 percent among all Americans.

　　The poll, conducted last week among a random² sample of 1,000 adults, shows half of those surveyed approve of the president's job performance and believe he deserves a second term.

　　In a televised interview Sunday, President Obama said he deserves to be re-elected, citing new figures that indicate the economy is adding jobs. He told NBC the economy is doing much better than when he took office three years ago, but that, "we are not done."

　　The president noted³ a report that said the unemployment rate fell in January for the fifth month in a row, with nearly 250,000 jobs added. In 2009, he said, the economy was losing three times that many jobs per month.

　　But the Republican presidential hopefuls say the economy is not recovering fast enough and Obama's policies have been ineffective.

　　The four Republican candidates are campaigning in the states of Minnesota and Colorado, which hold caucuses⁴ Tuesday.

　　Former Massachusetts governor Romney appears poised⁵ to win Colorado caucuses Tuesday. But polls in Minnesota suggest any one of four candidates could take first place, with former senator Rick Santorum in the lead.

　　Opinion surveys in both states show former House speaker Newt Gingrich has lost significant support.

　　Gingrich had been considered Romney's closest rival for the nomination⁶, and in December held a commanding lead in Colorado polls. He is now in third place in that state.

　　Public Policy Polling, which conducted the latest surveys, says Santorum has been helped because no other candidates have been attacking him. Santorum is also polling well in Missouri, according to Public Policy Polling's latest survey there last week.

　　Gingrich is vowing⁷ to fight all the way to the nominating convention, being held in Tampa, Florida, in August.

　　Representative Ron Paul also remains⁸ in the race, but is trailing the other three candidates.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。