美国人认为工作比恐怖主义更重要

Americans: Jobs More Important Than Terrorism

Better jobs, pay and economy are the top issues for voters, a Voice of America informal study revealed.

VOA listened to the questions that voters ask presidential candidates. These are questions voters ask at rallies and meetings. Rallies were recently held in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Illinois.

Of all the questions voters asked of candidates, 27 percent were about the economy.

“What plans do you have to create better-paying jobs than minimum wage?” a man asked Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in Iowa last week.

Health care came in second-most asked, at 15 percent of the questions. Concerns about immigration came in at 12 percent.

Just 10 percent of the questions asked of the candidates were about national security or terrorism. A Gallup poll in December found 16 percent of Americans listed terrorism as their top concern.

VOA observed that Republicans were more likely to ask about terrorism than Democrats¹.

Sometimes, the issues were connected, or overlapped². New Jersey³ Governor Chris Christie, who is a Republican and says he wants to be president, was asked about terrorism and gun violence.

“It may score [political] points to mention ISIS and the threats to America, but more people have been killed in America by homegrown extremists than by international terrorists,” a man said to Christie. “When do we consider gun violence a credible⁴ threat to our safety and security?”

Candidates were often asked about the Second Amendment⁵. That amendment states that “A well-regulated Militia⁶, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed⁷."

Many Americans interpret, or define it, different ways. That has led to conflict about gun use in America. More people were killed in America in the past 10 years by guns (280,000) than by terrorism (24), according to numerous news sources and confirmed by PolitiFact.

PolitiFact “is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics.” It is staffed by editors and reporters at the Tampa Bay Times.

Democratic contenders were often asked to assist in solving problems aligned⁸ with their party. For example, Hillary Clinton repeatedly hears questions on healthcare insurance and the economy.

Republican candidates were more likely to be asked about welfare abuse and immigration.

Questions about climate were asked 5 percent of the time. Race issues were asked 2.5 percent of all questions.

Republican candidate Donald Trump⁹ was not part of the VOA study. He does not field questions from audiences at his campaign events.

Words in This Story

aligned – v. in line with, of interest to

stance – n. a publicly stated opinion

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 overlapped   

_adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• His visit and mine overlapped. 他的访问期与我的访问期有几天重叠。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Our visits to the town overlapped. 我们彼此都恰巧到那小城观光。 来自辞典例句

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。