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Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee quit the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹ Tuesday after a series of disappointing finishes in the early nominating contests. Thompson's withdrawal² comes as the remaining Republican contenders focus on Florida while the Democratic presidential hopefuls are preparing for Saturday's primary in South Carolina.

前田纳西参议员汤普森星期二退出共和党总统提名竞争。在此之前，他在一系列早期举行的预选和初选中一直表现不佳。在汤普森宣布退出的同时，共和党的其它竞争者正集中精力在佛罗里达州展开竞选活动，民主党的总统候选人则在为星期六在南卡罗来纳州举行的初选做准备。

Thompson issued a written statement withdrawing his candidacy and said he hoped the country and his party had benefited from his campaign.

汤普森发表了一份书面声明，宣布退出竞选，并说他希望美国和共和党从他的竞选活动中受益。

He came in third in Saturday's Republican primary in South Carolina, capping a string of poor finishes in the early primary and caucus³ states.

汤普森在星期六南卡罗来纳州的共和党初选中名列第三。在那之前，他在较早举行初选和基层党团会议的州均取得了不太好的成绩。

Thompson entered the Republican race to great fanfare⁴ last year and for a time was near the top of the national polls. But the former senator was never able to build political momentum⁵ for his candidacy, despite being well known as an actor on television and in the movies.

汤普森去年高调进入共和党方面的竞争，在全国范围内的民意调查里，他的支持率在一段时间里曾名列前茅。虽然汤普森是一位知名的电视和电影演员，但这位前参议员一直没能给自己的选举建立起政治上的势头。

Thompson did not immediately endorse⁶ any of his Republican rivals, who are now focused on the Florida primary on January 29.

在共和党的总统提名竞选中，1月29号将于佛罗里达州进行的初选现在已经演变成为一次重要的测试。

Senator John McCain is riding high after his victory in the South Carolina primary, but he faces a potentially strong challenge from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has decided⁷ to wage an all-out campaign in Florida.

麦凯恩参议员在南卡罗来纳州的初选胜利以后士气高昂，但是他面对着一个潜在的强劲对手，这就是已经决定在佛罗里达州全面展开竞选活动的前纽约市市长朱利亚尼。

Giuliani questions McCain's commitment to conservative principles like cutting taxes.

朱利安尼质疑麦凯恩对减税等保守原则的承诺。

"John McCain sided with the Democrats⁸ and voted against the Bush tax cuts," he said.

他说：“麦凯恩站在民主党人一边，投票反对布什总统的减税计划。”

Giuliani led the Republican race in national polls for much of last year. But he did not seriously compete in the early primaries and caucuses⁹ this year, gambling¹⁰ that he could restart his campaign in Florida.

朱利亚尼在去年多数的民意测验中都居共和党竞选的榜首，但是他在今年年初的党内初选和党团基层选举中都没有认真竞选，只是在佛州的初选上投下了赌注，争取重新启动他的竞选活动。

But McCain's recent victories in South Carolina and New Hampshire have helped him in the national polls and in some states like New York where Giuliani was thought to be almost unbeatable a few months ago.

然而，麦凯恩最近在南卡和新罕布什尔获得的胜利，帮助他在全国的民意测验中和一些州的测验中取胜，其中包括纽约州。几个月前，这个州的人们都认为朱利亚尼几乎是不可战胜的。

"We are now running 10 to 15 points ahead of him in his home state, so I understand," he noted¹¹.

麦凯恩说：“据我了解，我们现在在他的州里比他高10到15个百分点。”

Former governors Mitt¹² Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas are also in contention¹³ in Florida.

前麻萨诸塞州州长罗姆尼和前阿肯色州长哈克比也将在佛罗里达参加竞选。

Meanwhile, in the Democratic race, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are getting more aggressive with each other in the battle for the party's presidential nomination.

克林顿参议员和奥巴马参议员在竞争民主党党内总统提名的选战上对彼此发起的攻势都越来越强。

OBAMA: "Wait, no, Hillary, you just spoke¹⁴."

CLINTON: "I did not say anything about Ronald Reagan."

The latest debate in South Carolina was the most contentious¹⁵ exchange yet among the top Democratic contenders, including Clinton, Obama and former senator John Edwards.

在南卡的辩论是民主党主要参选人之间迄今为止相互指责最激烈的回合，参选人包括克林顿、奥巴马和前参议员爱德华兹。

"Are there three people in this debate, not two? This kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care?" he asked.

爱德华兹说：“有三个人在这里辩论，不是两个，对吗？这样的争论能使多少儿童得到医疗保险？”

Obama is counting on strong African-American support in Saturday's South Carolina primary to regain¹⁶ some momentum after Clinton victories in Nevada and New Hampshire. He is ahead in the latest polls in South Carolina.

奥巴马希望星期六在南卡罗来纳的初选中得到非洲裔美国人的强大支持，以便重新获取竞争的势头，因为克林顿在内华达和新罕布什尔获得了胜利。

Obama is returning fire at both Hillary and Bill Clinton for questioning his opposition¹⁷ to the war in Iraq.

奥巴马针对希拉里和比尔.克林顿质疑他是否反对伊拉克战争一事进行回击。

"President Clinton says that I was not opposed to the war from the start, or says it is a fairy tale that I opposed the war, that is simply not true," he said.

奥巴马说：“克林顿总统说我从一开始就不反对伊拉克战争，或是说我反对这场战争简直是童话故事。这根本不是事实。”

Hillary Clinton is trying to stay competitive in South Carolina, but is already looking ahead to the February 5 contests when more than 20 states hold presidential primaries or caucuses.

希拉里.克林顿试图在南卡保持竞争力，但是她已经开始关注2月5号超级星期二的初选，届时将有超过20个州举行总统初选或党团基层选举。

Clinton contends Obama has a pattern of avoiding difficult issues, beginning with his record as a state senator in Illinois.

克林顿争辩说，奥巴马在棘手问题上有一种刻意回避的模式，这从他担任伊利诺伊州的州议员时就开始了。

"It is very difficult having a straight-up debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote, and that has been a pattern," she said.

希拉里.克林顿说：“跟你进行直接的辩论很困难，因为你从来没有对投票承担过责任，这已经形成了一种模式。”

The state-by-state selection process for the party nominees¹⁸ will be finished by early June and the party candidates will be officially nominated at the national conventions in late August and early September.

The U.S. presidential election will held on November 4.