2006年VOA标准英语-Fierce Battle Underway for Control of US Congre

By Jim Malone
Washington
06 September 2006

The battle for control of Congress is intensifying¹ with only two months to go until the congressional elections on November 7.  The war in Iraq and the war on terror are front and center in this year's election campaign.

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Republicans have controlled both the Senate and House of Representatives since 1994.  Opposition² Democrats³ believe that 2006 is their best opportunity to win back control of at least one chamber⁴ and possibly both.

Opinion polls indicate Democrats are poised⁵ to make gains because of public unhappiness over the war in Iraq, economic concerns and President Bush's low approval ratings.

In recent days, the president has given a series of speeches to refocus the campaign on the issue of the war on terror, an area where Republicans believe they have an advantage over Democrats.

 

George W. Bush    
  
"This is the great ideological⁶ struggle of the 21st century.  It is the calling of our generation," he said.

Mr. Bush says the United States is safer now than it was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

But Democrats dispute that, arguing that the Iraq war has been a negative distraction⁷ for the war on terror and that overall, America is not as safe as it should be.

Harry⁸ Reid of Nevada leads Democrats in the Senate.

 
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
  
"They have run this play one too many times," he said.  "It is the same speeches that they have given before and all the speeches in the world do not change what is going on on the ground in Iraq.  And as we have heard, the ground in Iraq is not a pleasant place."

But Democrats are divided over what to do about Iraq.  Some favor a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops, while many others argue that would send the wrong message to insurgents⁹ and terrorists operating inside Iraq.

President Bush continues to argue that the U.S. must stay the course in Iraq indefinitely.

"And there are a lot of people in the Democratic Party who believe that the best course of action is to leave Iraq before the job is done, period," he said.  "And they are wrong.  And the American people have got to understand the consequence of leaving Iraq before the job is done."

Political analysts¹¹ predict that Mr. Bush and his Republican supporters will keep the focus on the war on terror for the final two months of the congressional election campaign.

"The only issue where Republicans still have an advantage is the war on terror," said David Rohde, a professor of political science at Duke University in North Carolina.  "All domestic issues are tilted¹² substantially to the Democrats.  And even with respect to the war in Iraq, all the polls I have seen show that the public thinks that Democrats would do a better job than the Republicans."

Many experts believe that Republicans have an advantage on the issue of national security and highlighted the issue to good effect in the 2002 congressional elections and in President Bush's re-election victory in 2004.

Tom DeFrank is Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Daily News and a frequent guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.

"The president believes, I think he believes absolutely, sincerely, that it would be a huge mistake to set any kind of timetable and begin a withdrawal¹³ from Iraq," he said.  "But he also believes, or at least his political advisers¹⁴ believe, that that is an issue on which the Democrats are very vulnerable.  So, I think we are going to see stronger rhetoric¹⁵ in the next nine weeks."

But opinion polls suggest voters may be looking for a change in November because of growing disenchantment with the war in Iraq and the domestic economy.

Thomas Mann is a political expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.  He believes this year's elections could signal a shift in the balance of power in the nation's capital.

"American midterm elections typically are local affairs, local politics," he noted¹⁶.  "But maybe once a decade you get an angry, aroused electorate¹⁷ that weighs in with a negative referendum on the party of government."

Duke University analyst¹⁰ David Rohde says Democrats appear to be in position to gain the 15 seats they need to retake control of the 435-member House of Representatives.

"In the House, things have been moving decidedly against the Republicans over the past couple of months," he explained.  "Many more races are in play, according to most of the analysts that follow this closely."

Most experts believe the Democrats will have a harder time winning a majority in the 100-member Senate.  Democrats need to gain six Senate seats in this year's elections without losing any seats they currently hold.

There are 33 Senate races this year.  Democrats hold 18 of those seats while Republicans hold 15.

1 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 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》

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

7 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

8 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

9 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 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。

12 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

13 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

14 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

15 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

16 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。

17 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。