2006年VOA标准英语-New Orleans Mayor Faces Tight Race in Re-E

By Greg Flakus
New Orleans
12 May 2006

 
Mitch Landrieu, left, and Ray Nagin in mayoral debate
  
The colorful and controversial mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, is facing a tough challenge in the May 20 runoff election against Louisiana Lieutenant¹ Governor Mitch Landrieu. The issue that looms² over the race is Hurricane Katrina, which devastated³ the city eight months ago. Many New Orleans voters blame Mayor Nagin for emergency response failures and other problems that have arisen post-Katrina, while his supporters say he did all that could be done in confronting the worst disaster in the city's history.

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In the final days before the voters decide this election, the two candidates have been meeting in debates and discussions on a daily basis. On Thursday they came together for the second televised debate of this campaign, held at Loyola University. The debate was organized and televised by local Fox TV affiliate⁴ WVUE.

The main issue looming⁵ over the debate, and the mayoral race in general, is Katrina. Mayor Nagin gained international attention with his spirited and often colorful way of addressing the city's recovery problems last year, but many citizens were upset by what they perceived as ineffective leadership.  Prominent local business leaders are among those endorsing⁶ Landrieu, saying they have lost confidence in Nagin.

Mitch Landrieu  
  
In the debate, Mitch Landrieu emphasized his experience as lieutenant governor and said he would do a better job than Mayor Nagin at getting support for the city on a national basis.

"This city can come back. It will come back if we join together. The next mayor has to restore our credibility," he said.  "The next mayor has to bring people together and the next mayor has to know how to get things done. I believe I can do that."

But Mayor Nagin said his government is making progress and that some of the ideas presented by his challenger would result in a setback⁷. He said Landrieu's suggestion that auditors⁸ and consultants⁹ should be brought in would be a waste of time and resources.

 
Ray Nagin 
  
"Now we have a plan for moving forward," said Mr. Nagan.  "My opponent is basically advocating changing and disrupting a lot of things that are happening right now. We do not have the time or the luxury to step back to study and bring this one and that one in. We need to continue this progress."

Speaking to VOA after the debate, both candidates expressed confidence and spoke¹⁰ respectfully of each other. Lieutenant Governor Landrieu stressed that this election is not about personalities¹¹ or rivalries¹², but about providing effective leadership.

"Obviously we like each other and respect each other, but we are very different in terms of our personalities and how we manage," noted¹³ Mr. Landrieu.

Mayor Nagin acknowledged that he is in a tough fight for re-election, but he said the endorsement¹⁴ of Landrieu by leaders of the New Orleans Hospitality industry and others were not of great concern for him.

"I am feeling pretty good," said Mr. Nagin.  "It is a matter of time and what the people decide. I do not think endorsements¹⁵ are going to matter this time around. I am not discounting them, don't get me wrong, but I think the people are doing critical analysis every day and I think they are going to make up their own minds and I am comfortable with that."

The runoff election resulted from Mayor Nagin's failure to win a majority of votes in the first round of voting, held on April 22, in which there were two-dozen candidates. Nagin won 37 percent of that vote and Landrieu 27 percent, but a large part of the vote that went to losing candidates in that round is expected to move over to Landrieu in this election, making him the frontrunner.

Race plays a role in this election, but it is a complicated matter. Nagin, who is black, won his first election four years ago with lukewarm support in the black community and strong support from sectors¹⁶ of the white community. Although he is a Democrat¹⁷, he has often expressed conservative views and clashed with fellow party members.

Landrieu, who is white, is also a Democrat and comes from a family with longstanding ties to the black community. His father, Moon Landrieu, was mayor of New Orleans several decades ago and his sister, Mary Landrieu, is a U.S. senator from Louisiana. He has solid support from the minority white population and mixed support from blacks, many of whom have expressed a desire to keep a black mayor in city hall. But black participation¹⁸ in the first round of the election was lower than expected. More than half the city's population remains¹⁹ displaced because of Katrina. Absentee voting and early voting at special satellite centers around the state were lower than expected, so voters who are currently living in the city are expected to decide this election.

No New Orleans mayor has lost a re-election campaign in 60 years, but as local political analysts²⁰ note, there has been no event like Hurricane Katrina in recent history. It is also the first time a local election here has captured so much interest around the nation and around the world. Voters go to the polls to make their choice on May 20.

1 lieutenant   

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。

2 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

5 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

6 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

9 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

10 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。

11 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

12 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

15 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

16 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

18 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。