VOA慢速英语2010年-Education Report - Obama, Democrats Ai

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

On Tuesday, the United States will hold congressional and state elections in a year defined by voter dissatisfaction. Democrats¹ are trying hard to excite their party's base of support in an effort to limit Republican gains.

That base includes young people. Two years ago, two-thirds of voters under thirty voted for Barack Obama. Now, the president is urging them to remember that excitement and his campaign for change. His efforts to reach young voters include appearances on MTV and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" along with college visits.

Recently he spoke² to about thirty-five thousand people at Ohio State University.

BARACK OBAMA: "And now we are not just advocating change. We're not just calling for change. We're doing the hard work of change -- we're grinding it out. Sometimes it's frustrating³. We're delivering change inch by inch, day by day. It's not easy. Believe me, I know it's not easy."

Zach Howell, president of the College Republican National Committee, could have said the same thing two years ago. But he says this year is "completely different." He says more young people are proudly identifying themselves as conservatives and as Republicans.

Genna Schwartz of the Ohio State University Student Democrats hands out information about President Obama's upcoming visit to the school

ZACH HOWELL: "It is all about the economy. That is everything to them. I mean, twenty percent of college graduates are unable to find work right now. So young people are concerned about their futures⁴."

Sixty percent of college students approved of the job President Obama was doing in May of last year. That number was down to forty-four percent in a recent Associated Press-mtvU survey.

Heather Smith is executive director of Rock the Vote. Her group tries to get young people to become politically active. She says schools need to provide more civics education and states need to continue their efforts to make voting easier.

More and more Americans vote early; some states even let people register and vote on the same day. But Ms. Smith says the voter registration⁵ process may be one reason why young people are less likely to vote.

HEATHER SMITH: "They are new to the process and that means that for the majority of them, they need to register to vote for the first time."

But getting more people -- especially young people -- to vote is harder in years without a presidential election.

Young voters are getting a lot of attention. Yet the group AARP, which represents millions of older Americans, says candidates should keep something in mind. The group says two-thirds of voters this November could be age forty-five and older.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. Join us online at voaspecialenglish.com and on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty⁶.

 

1 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》

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。