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VOA慢速英语 2007 0122b

时间:2007-07-05 06:11来源:互联网 提供网友:standley   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)
VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Women in American politics is our report this week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Nancy Pelosi won her first election to Congress twenty years ago this June.

She led the California State Democratic Party in the early eighties. After that she served at the national level as finance chair of the campaign committee for Democrats2 in the Senate. She also kept busy with her five children.

Nancy Pelosi came from a political family. She was good at raising money but had never been a candidate for public office herself.

VOICE TWO:

Then in nineteen eighty-seven, the death of a Democratic representative in San Francisco led to a special election. Nancy Pelosi narrowly won her party's nomination3 to enter the race.

Since then, voters in the heavily Democratic district have re-elected her to Congress ten times.


Nancy Pelosi is welcomed by former speaker Dennis Hastert

Now she holds the powerful job of speaker of the House of Representatives. Under the Constitution, the speaker becomes president of the United States if ever the president and vice4 president are unable to serve.

VOICE ONE:

Displeasure with the Iraq war was a driving force in the victory for the Democrats in the elections last November. The Republican Party lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in twelve years.

Nancy Pelosi was the minority leader in the House. As expected, she became the new speaker when the One Hundred Tenth Congress opened on January fourth.

NANCY PELOSI: By electing me speaker, you have brought us closer to the ideal of equality that is America's heritage and America's hope.

Nancy Pelosi is the first woman ever elected to lead the House. At her swearing-in, she thanked the new minority leader, Republican John Boehner, for pointing that out.

NANCY PELOSI: This is an historic moment and I thank the leader for acknowledging it. Thank you, Mister Boehner. It's an historic moment for the Congress. It's an historic moment for the women of America.

VOICE TWO:

The new Congress has a record number of women, including ten newly elected to the House.

Twenty years ago, when Nancy Pelosi was first elected, men filled all but twenty-two seats in the House. Now seventy-one of the four hundred thirty-five members, or sixteen percent, are women. Most are Democrats.

VOICE ONE:

Historically many of the women who have served in the Senate were never elected. They were appointed to complete the term of a husband or other male relative who resigned or died.


Seeds of Peace campers from the Middle East interact with Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe on Capitol Hill

Fifteen years ago, only two of the one hundred senators were women. Now the number is a record sixteen.

One of the five Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine, has served in both houses of Congress and both houses of her state legislature.

VOICE TWO:

Two women are new to the Senate this year. Both are Democrats. Amy Klobuchar enforced the law as chief prosecutor5 in the largest county in Minnesota. Claire McCaskill served as state auditor6 before she became the first woman ever elected a senator from Missouri.

At the state level, women are governors of nine of the fifty states.

VOICE ONE:

Across the country, the victory for Democratic candidates in November brought back memories. It was similar to the elections of nineteen ninety-four -- only then, it was the other way around. That was the year of what became known as the Republican revolution.

In Congress, all of the representatives and a third of the senators are elected every two years. Now all the attention is on two thousand eight, when Americans will also elect a new president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

America won its independence in seventeen seventy-six. But it was not until nineteen twenty that American women won a constitutional right to vote.

Women have made gains in society, but people talk about a glass ceiling. This is the idea that women may face unwritten limits on their rise to power in jobs or other areas.

Nancy Pelosi says her election as speaker of the House means that women have finally broken, in her words, the marble ceiling.

VOICE ONE:

The sixty-six-year-old speaker quickly set to work on the legislative7 goals of House Democrats for the first one hundred hours of the new Congress. The issues were as different as increasing the federal minimum wage and reducing interest rates on student loans.

But there were disputes among Democrats over some of her early decisions. For example, some members of her party disagreed with her choice for chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. She chose Silvestre Reyes of Texas over Jane Harman of California -- the longest-serving Democrat1 on the committee.

VOICE TWO:

Nancy Pelosi was born Nancy D'Alesandro. She was one of five children in a family in the Little Italy area of Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Junior, was the mayor of Baltimore. Before that he represented the city for five terms in the House of Representatives. Later, his son Thomas the Third also became mayor of Baltimore.

Daughter Nancy graduated in nineteen sixty-two from Trinity College -- now Trinity Washington University -- in the nation's capital. The following year she married Paul Pelosi, a wealthy businessman from San Francisco.

VOICE ONE:

In Congress, Nancy Pelosi served on the House Appropriations8 Committee, which deals with federal spending. In two thousand two she was elected minority leader.

Many women are proud of her success. But women are fifty-one percent of the population and their numbers in Congress fall far short of that.

VOICE TWO:

Last year, even extra money from the Democratic Party failed to help many female candidates win seats in Congress.

One woman who appeared likely to win a seat in the House was Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She was a helicopter pilot in the Iraq war. She lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down. Before the election, Tammy Duckworth was ahead in public opinion. But when the ballots9 were counted, Republican Peter Roskam had narrowly defeated her.

VOICE TWO:

Some people say it is harder for women than men to win elections. They say voters may worry that women will be soft on issues like illegal immigration. Or voters, male as well as female, are suspicious of women in power.

Others argue that while some voters might discriminate10 against women, most base their choices on a candidate's positions.

Political observers can argue all day about why Congress does not have more women.

VOICE ONE:

And the fact is, they can all be right. America is a big country. What influences voters in one area may have no effect in another. In some cases, what might count most is the ability of a candidate to raise enough money for an effective media campaign.

Even a candidate for local office may have to raise money for a campaign.

VOICE TWO:

Some groups make special efforts to help female candidates. But in political fund-raising there are no guarantees.

For example, Elizabeth Dole11 sought the Republican nomination for president in two thousand. She dropped out, saying she could not raise enough money for a campaign. She is now a senator from North Carolina.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Raising money might not be such a problem for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Senator Clinton has long been considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination next year. Finally, on Saturday, she announced that she is forming a presidential exploratory committee, the first step toward becoming a candidate.

(SOUND)


Senator Hillary Clinton announces opening presidential exploratory committee on her website HillaryClinton.com

You know, after six years of George Bush, it is time to renew the promise of America. Our basic bargain...that no matter who you are or where you live, if you work hard and play by the rules you can build a good life for yourself and your family.

The wife of former president Bill Clinton was elected a senator from New York in two thousand, and re-elected last November.

No major American party has ever nominated a woman for president. And only one woman, Democrat Geraldine Ferraro, was a candidate for vice president. That was in nineteen eighty-four.

Most Americans say they would vote for a female president. But lately there has been a lot of excitement about another Democrat. Illinois Senator Barack Obama announced last Tuesday that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee.

A number of other Democrats and Republicans have also announced exploratory committees. Federal election rules permit individuals to test the waters. They can raise money and see if they have enough public support before officially declaring themselves candidates.

VOICE TWO:

Condoleezza Rice has often been spoken of as a possible Republican presidential candidate. But the secretary of state says she does not want to be president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver12. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts13 and MP3 files of our programs are at www.unsv.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 democrat Xmkzf     
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员
参考例句:
  • The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
  • About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后,他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
2 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
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》
3 nomination BHMxw     
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。
4 vice NU0zQ     
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。
5 prosecutor 6RXx1     
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人
参考例句:
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
  • The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
6 auditor My5ziV     
n.审计员,旁听着
参考例句:
  • The auditor was required to produce his working papers.那个审计员被要求提供其工作底稿。
  • The auditor examines the accounts of all county officers and departments.审计员查对所有县官员及各部门的帐目。
7 legislative K9hzG     
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的
参考例句:
  • Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
  • Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。
8 appropriations dbe6fbc02763a03b4f9bd9c27ac65881     
n.挪用(appropriation的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是,拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
  • Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案,就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
9 ballots 06ecb554beff6a03babca6234edefde4     
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》
10 discriminate NuhxX     
v.区别,辨别,区分;有区别地对待
参考例句:
  • You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
  • They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。
11 dole xkNzm     
n.救济,(失业)救济金;vt.(out)发放,发给
参考例句:
  • It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
  • Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来,许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。
12 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
13 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句
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