VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - Americans Vote Tuesday i

Americans will vote in elections on Tuesday. They will elect all four hundred thirty-five members of the United States House of Representatives, thirty-seven senators, many state governors and local officials. Political experts say all signs point to major gains by Republican Party candidates in both houses of Congress. The Republicans are hoping to win back control of Congress, which they lost to the Democrats¹ in two thousand six.

President Obama does not stand for re-election until two thousand twelve. But many of his programs may be in trouble if Republicans retake control of the House and make gains in the Senate.

President Obama has been urging Democrats across the country to support their party’s candidates in the election. He also has defended the record of his administration’s first two years in office. Former President Bill Clinton gave a similar message when he made campaign appearances for Democratic Party candidates. He said he believes President Obama and Congress have done a better job than most people think they have done.

But Republican leaders say the political energy is on their side this year. Many political experts predict that Republicans will win back control of the House of Representatives, but will fall just short of winning a majority in the Senate.

Balance of power in the upcoming US Elections

A new study found that support for President Obama and the Democrats has decreased among some important voting groups. These groups helped them win two years ago. They include women, independent voters and less wealthy Americans. CBS News and The New York Times newspaper reported their findings.

Experts say the public’s poor opinion of the national economy, including high unemployment, is the main problem facing Democrats this year.

Democrats have been seeking to increase voters’ attention on individual Republican candidates they say are too extreme. Some of these candidates are supported by the conservative and libertarian Tea Party movement.

This year, money in the form of campaign contributions appears to be having more of an influence than ever before. A Supreme² Court ruling opened the way for more campaign spending on television advertising³ by businesses and labor⁴ unions. Many television advertisements are paid for by groups not connected with political parties and by wealthy donors⁵ who do not have to identify themselves. Many of these television commercials attack a candidate’s opponent.

The election campaigns have been some of the costliest⁶ ever. For example, Republican Meg Whitman has spent more than one hundred forty million dollars of her own money on her campaign. She is seeking to become governor of California against the state’s former governor, Jerry Brown. Independent groups estimate that candidates, parties and independent groups will spend as much as four billion dollars by the time the voting has ended.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. Go to voaspecialenglish.com explore our new English teaching activities. I'm Steve Ember.

 

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 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。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网