VOA慢速英语 2007 1124a

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

From time to time we are answering questions about the American election process. Today, from Jigawa, Nigeria, Mustapha Aminu Gumel asks why Super Tuesday is so special in the presidential campaign.

Super Tuesday is a day when a large number of states hold primary elections or caucus¹ meetings. Primaries and caucuses² are part of the nominating process.

In the two thousand four campaign, ten states held their events on Tuesday, March second. Next year Super Tuesday will come almost a month earlier -- on February fifth. And it has earned the name "Super Duper Tuesday" or "Tsunami³ Tuesday."

This time more than twenty states will hold primaries or caucuses. These include big states with a lot of delegates like California, Illinois and New York.

During the nominating season, people vote for a candidate. But what they are really doing is choosing delegates to the national political conventions later in the year. These are where the Democrats⁴ and Republicans nominate their candidates for the general election in November.

The two thousand eight presidential campaign began much earlier than Americans are used to. The national conventions are not until late summer. But the likely nominees⁵ should become clear by February fifth -- Super Tuesday -- if not sooner.

Traditionally, Iowa holds the first caucuses in the nation and New Hampshire holds the first primary. The results of the voting get a lot of attention. The idea behind these early tests is to give candidates with less money a chance to compete against those with bigger campaigns. Critics, however, say this tradition gives these small states an unfair amount of influence in the presidential campaign.

 
New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner announces January 8 as the date for its primary
The Iowa caucuses will take place on January third. And New Hampshire will hold its primary on January eighth. The date was set after the Michigan Supreme⁶ Court this week cleared the way for Michigan to hold its primary on January fifteenth. New Hampshire is required by state law to hold its primary at least a week before any similar election.

Florida, South Carolina and Nevada, along with Republicans in Wyoming, will also hold their primaries or caucuses in January. 

Opinion is divided about the idea of so many states holding their votes so early in the election year. Supporters say earlier primaries could give voters a greater choice of candidates. Yet states that moved their voting ahead to February fifth, hoping to get more attention from candidates, may still find their influence limited.

Some experts say the nominating season is so heavy at the start, so front-loaded, that doing well in Iowa and New Hampshire will be more important than ever.

 

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 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

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 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》

5 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。