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THIS IS AMERICA - Presidential Race

时间:2006-03-02 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:SZPJX   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

THIS IS AMERICA - Presidential Race
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, January 12, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

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

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. This week, we examine the events ahead in the race for the presidential election in the United States.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Americans elect a president every four years. Election Day this year is November second.

Republicans will gather in New York City at the end of August to nominate President Bush for a second term. Two terms is the limit under the Constitution.

Democrats1 will hold their convention at the end of July in Boston, Massachusetts. Howard Dean has been leading the candidates for the Democratic nomination2. But the former governor of Vermont has eight opponents -- most notably3, Wesley Clark, who has been gaining support. The candidates have campaigned for months. But the nominating process is just beginning. What happens this month is important.

VOICE TWO:

On January nineteenth, party meetings called caucuses4 will take place in Iowa. People will gather in homes and public buildings all over the state to choose the person they want to lead the country. But they do not vote for a candidate like in a primary election.

Instead, they elect local delegates. Each delegate elected represents a percentage of support from their local area for a presidential candidate. As the process continues, delegates elect other delegates to represent them. Those chosen at state conventions in Iowa then attend the national nominating convention of their party.

For years, party leaders decided5 the nominees6 at the national conventions. But now the events are largely ceremonial. Votes at the state level decide who will compete for president long before the conventions begin.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In each election year, the Iowa caucuses are a first test of public approval for a candidate. But some political experts criticize the Iowa caucuses. They call them strange and indirect.

This year, two of the nine Democratic candidates are not competing in Iowa. They are retired7 Army General Wesley Clark and Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. They are saving their money and energy for later events.

Iowa public opinion changes from day to day. But Howard Dean, Congressman8 Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts all have strong support.

VOICE TWO:

Public opinion research shows that Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio have little chance to win in Iowa. The same can be said for the Reverend Al Sharpton of New York and former Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois.

Still, these candidates for the Democratic nomination have chosen to compete in Iowa. They remember that in nineteen-seventy-six, a little-known candidate, the former governor of Georgia, won the Iowa caucuses. Jimmy Carter went on to become the thirty-ninth president of the United States.

VOICE ONE:

After Iowa, people will look to see who wins the New Hampshire primary. New Hampshire holds its primary election on January twenty-seventh. Some say the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary may decide the Democratic nomination. They say that if Howard Dean wins both events, he could soon have enough delegates to secure the nomination.

Other states and territories will hold their own nominating events in the coming weeks and months. But candidates who do poorly this month may leave the race before long. They will find it difficult to raise enough money to continue their campaigns.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

 
Howard Dean
Howard Dean is a medical doctor. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives and later as lieutenant9 governor. He became governor in nineteen-ninety-one. In two-thousand he signed a bill to make Vermont the only state to permit civil unions between people of the same sex. Civil unions offer the same legal protections as marriage.

Doctor Dean served as governor of the small state in the Northeast until January of last year. As a presidential candidate, he strongly opposed the war in Iraq.

Since he opened his campaign, supporters have provided him with large amounts of money through the Internet. He raised at least fifteen-million dollars in the last three months alone.

VOICE ONE:

 
Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark entered the competition several months after the other candidates. But some political experts believe he has the best chance against Doctor Dean. Wesley Clark earned military honors in the Vietnam War. And he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford10 University in England.

General Clark rose in leadership positions in the Army. Before retiring, he served as NATO commander. He led NATO troops during the operations against Serbian forces in Kosovo.

Like Howard Dean, Wesley Clark has also proven his ability to raise money. He collected at least ten-million dollars during the last three months.

VOICE TWO:

John Kerry received many honors for his military service during the Vietnam War. But later he opposed that war. He is now serving his fourth term in the Senate.

As president, he says he would try to reduce American dependence12 on oil from the Middle East. He says his plan also would create a half-million jobs in new energy industries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Dick Gephardt is the former Democratic Party leader in the House of Representatives. He has served twenty-six years in the House. Over the years he has won major labor-union support for his efforts to defend American workers.

Mister Gephardt sought the Democratic presidential nomination in nineteen-eighty-eight. At that time, he won the Iowa caucuses.

VOICE TWO:

Candidates for the presidential nomination of the two major parties have mainly been white, male and Protestant Christian13. This year two of the candidates are African American: Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. And Joe Lieberman is the first Jewish candidate. John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich are both Roman Catholic.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Lieberman has served more than fourteen years in the Senate. Many say he is the candidate whose policies are closest to those of former President Bill Clinton. He was the vice11 presidential candidate of Al Gore14 in the election of two-thousand. But, in this election, Mister Gore has given his support to Howard Dean.

VOICE TWO:

Carol Moseley Braun was the first black woman in the Senate. Later President Clinton appointed her ambassador to New Zealand.

Al Sharpton campaigned several times for public office in New York, but was never elected. He established a civil rights group in nineteen-ninety-one.

John Edwards is the youngest candidate for the Democratic nomination. He is fifty years old. The former trial lawyer is serving his first term as a senator from North Carolina.

In nineteen-seventy-seven, Dennis Kucinich became mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of thirty one. He was the youngest mayor ever elected in a large American city. Today, the congressman opposes the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement. That agreement is ten years old this month.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Kucinich also opposed the war in Iraq, as did Howard Dean, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton. Wesley Clark says President Bush involved the United States in unnecessary conflict. But at one time he also said he would have voted for the war. Representative Gephardt and Senators Lieberman, Edwards and Kerry all did so.

All the candidates have criticized the Bush administration for its handling of Iraq since the end of major fighting there.

VOICE TWO:

But right now President Bush is not the only target for criticism. So is Howard Dean as the other Democrats compete against his popularity for the nomination in July.

Then will come the campaign for Election Day in November. Generally speaking, experts describe America as equally divided on major political issues. As evidence they point, for example, to the close results in the two-thousand election.

Public opinion research shows that a majority of Americans approve of the job George W. Bush is doing as president. Political experts note that the improving economy and the capture of Saddam Hussein have helped those approval ratings. There have also been recent gains in Mister Bush's lead among likely voters over Howard Dean and the other Democratic candidates.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver15. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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》
2 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。
3 notably 1HEx9     
adv.值得注意地,显著地,尤其地,特别地
参考例句:
  • Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席,特别是连班长也没来。
  • A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小,一头银发,每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。
4 caucuses d49ca95184fa2aef8e2ee3b613a6f7dd     
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
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 nominees 3e8d8b25ccc8228c71eef17be7bb2d5f     
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
7 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
8 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
9 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
10 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
11 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。
12 dependence 3wsx9     
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属
参考例句:
  • Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
  • He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。
13 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
14 gore gevzd     
n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶
参考例句:
  • The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
  • Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。
15 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。
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