CNN 2010-11-04

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: There's an old saying: It's not what you know, it's who you know. It might also be how you act. We're gonna make sense of that in just a bit. I'm Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN Student News!

First Up: Midterm Elections

AZUZ: The primaries, the rallies, the debates: Let's call all that the pre-game. The big show kicks off today, Election Day in the U.S. This has been the most expensive midterm election in U.S. history. And it wraps up today as voters cast their ballots² all over the country. What's at stake: control of Congress. You've heard us talk about it. The Democrats³ currently have a majority in both chambers⁵. Republicans are expected to make gains today. In order to take over that majority, the Republicans need to hold onto the seats that they currently have, plus win 39 more seats in the House of Representatives, 10 more in the Senate. Sandra Endo checks in now with a report on the final push leading up to today's election.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One last cry to rally the troops. President Obama was on the campaign trail trying to get out the vote in Cleveland.

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Because if everyone who fought for change in 2008 shows up to vote in 2010, we will win this election. I am confident in that.

ENDO: Former President Bill Clinton, Vice⁶ President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama are fanning out across the country to help in key races, like in Kentucky, Nevada and Delaware. For the Republican Party, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is stumping⁷ for GOP Senate candidate John Raese in West Virginia. Republican leaders are looking for big wins, a shift in power, in at least one chamber⁴ of Congress.

MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: My goal in talking to our team out in the field is let's get our folks to the 39, because that's the momentum⁸ point you really want to go for, and then you can continue to build from there.

ENDO: In fact a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Sunday shows a majority of Americans think Republicans will take over control of Congress after the midterm elections: 51 percent to 36 percent. According to the poll, 34 percent say the country will be better off if Republicans win back Congress; 28 percent say the nation will be worse off; and 36 percent say it won't make a difference. Another poll out today shows 75 percent of Americans think things are going badly in the country. It's the worst outlook going into a midterm election since the mid¹ '70s, and the economy remains⁹ issue number one on voters' minds. In Washington, Sandra Endo, for CNN Student News.

1 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 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。