VOA标准英语10月-McCain Looks to Regain Momentum in US Presidentia

Republican presidential candidate John McCain campaigned in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado Friday, hoping to turn his political fortunes around with only 10 days before Election Day. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.
　

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain greets supporters at a rally in Denver, 24 Oct. 2008

At a rally in Denver, John McCain warned that the middle class would suffer economically if Barack Obama is elected president next month along with a Congress with an expanded Democratic majority.

McCain also cited the prediction of Obama's vice¹ presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden, that Obama will be tested by an international crisis early in his term if he wins on November 4.

"I will not be a president that needs to be tested," he said. "I have been tested, and Senator Obama hasn't!"

Protestors briefly² interrupted McCain's speech. McCain responded that voters want Americans to stop shouting at each other.

"You know, a lot of times the people come and yell, and they yell about the war in Iraq," he said. "I want to tell you, my friends, we will bring our troops home, but we will bring them home in honor and victory, we won't bring them home in defeat!"

McCain is looking to regain³ momentum⁴ in Colorado and several other so-called swing or battleground states that will determine who wins the election.

Several recent polls suggest Obama has big leads over McCain in several important states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.
　

Michelle Obama speaks to supporters at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, 24 Oct. 2008

Obama was off the campaign trail Friday, visiting his ailing⁵ grandmother in Hawaii. His wife, Michelle Obama, filled in for her husband during a campaign rally in Ohio.

"I come here as a wife, who, first and foremost loves her husband, and I've watched him perform and grow, and I know, after being so close to him and seeing his abilities up close, I know in my heart, with absolutely no hesitation⁶, that he will be an extraordinary president," she said. "That I know."

Obama leads McCain in the latest national polls by an average of seven points. But political experts have really taken notice of several recent state polls that seem to show Obama surging.
　

Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally under the Gateway7 Arch at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, 18 Oct. 2008

"Right now, it is a near landslide⁸ for Barack Obama," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential scholar at American University in Washington. "A round of new polls have come out in battleground states showing Barack Obama with unstoppable leads in every state that John Kerry won in 2004, and very big leads in a lot of states that President Bush won in 2004."

But many analysts⁹ also caution that McCain could close the gap in the final days of the campaign, especially if something unexpected occurs either at home or abroad.

"I continue to believe that some sort of unexpected global crisis in the last 10 days would certainly help McCain," said Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News and a guest on VOA's Issues in the News program. "I don't think Russia is going to invade Poland or Georgia or the Czech Republic, but something like that, were it to happen, would remind voters, I think, that McCain has the overwhelming edge in experience in national security and foreign policy matters."

Both candidates will target a small group of undecided or so-called battleground states in the final days in hopes of securing the number of state-by-state electoral votes needed to win the presidency¹⁰.

A candidate needs 270 electoral votes out of a total of 538 for victory.

1 vice   

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。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

5 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

6 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

8 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

9 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。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。