VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Contenders Prepare For Super Tu

By Jim Malone
Washington
01 February 2008

The remaining U.S. presidential candidates are preparing for a major showdown on Tuesday when more than 20 states hold primaries or caucuses² to choose delegates to the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions later this year.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more on what the political experts call Super Tuesday.

The February 5 primaries and caucuses around the country loom³ as a decisive day in the battles for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations⁵.

In their latest debate in California, Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were noticeably nicer to one another compared to the previous encounter in South Carolina where both candidates attacked each other with abandon.

OBAMA:  "I was friends with Hillary Clinton before we started this campaign.  I will be friends with Hillary Clinton after this campaign is over."

CLINTON:  "The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences we have with the Republicans."

A total of 22 states hold Democratic primaries or caucuses Tuesday with more than 1,600 delegates at stake.

To win the Democratic nomination⁴, a candidate must win the support of 2025 delegates at the national nominating convention in Denver, Colorado, in late August.

In the Republican race, Senator John McCain of Arizona heads into Super Tuesday as the clear frontrunner, hoping to put more distance between himself and challengers Mitt⁶ Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

McCain continues to emphasize his early backing for the U.S. troop surge in Iraq, which has improved the security situation there.

"Iraq is the central battleground in the struggle against al-Qaida, and if we had done what the Democrats⁷ wanted us to do six months ago, and that is to declare a withdrawal⁸ and leave, we would be fighting all over the Middle East, we would see chaos⁹ and genocide in the region," he said.

Romney argues that he is the only true conservative remaining in the Republican field.

McCain continues to come under fire from conservative activists¹⁰ for past stands against tax cuts and for comprehensive immigration reform.

Among his critics is the conservative radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh.

"He is not the choice of conservatives, as opposed to the choice of the Republican establishment," he said.

The Republican contenders will compete in 21 primary or caucus¹ events on Tuesday with more than 1,000 party delegates at stake.  A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the Republican nomination.

Among those states holding primaries in both parties on Tuesday are California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey¹¹.  Smaller states in all regions of the country are also taking part.

Democratic political strategist Tad Devine predicts the Republican race will probably be decided¹² before the Democratic contest between Clinton and Obama.

"In the Republican process, somebody, most likely McCain, will pull way ahead and the other challengers simply will not be in a position to catch him," he noted¹³.  "That is not going to happen in our [Democratic] Party.  We are going to have a close contest that proceeds probably through the month of February into early March."

Most of the Republican contests are winner take all events, which award all the delegates at stake in a given primary or caucus to the winner.

Democratic delegates are awarded on a proportional basis, meaning even the second place candidate can win some delegates based on the proportion of the vote won in a primary or caucus.

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 caucuses   

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

3 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

4 nomination   

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。

5 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 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》

8 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。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 decided   

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。

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。