VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Race Nearing 'Super Tuesday'

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
03 February 2008

The candidates for the Republican and Democratic U.S. presidential nominations² are campaigning hard in advance of Tuesday's crucial round of contests in 22 states. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from Washington that California, New York and Illinois are among the states where voters will go to the polls on the so-called Super Tuesday.

The latest national polls show Senator John McCain pulling ahead in the race for the Republican nomination¹. At the same time, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are running roughly even on the Democratic side.

All three are hoping for a good showing on Tuesday, when voters in almost half the U.S. states will go to the polls.

On Sunday, they tried to reach audiences in as many states as possible with appearances on nationally broadcast television interview programs.

On the Fox News Sunday program, McCain said he is pleased with his current standing³ in the polls, and with the support he has received from party notables. But he acknowledged he still has a long way to go to win over staunch conservatives.

"The key is to unite the party," said McCain. "We have strong support from people like Jack⁴ Kemp, Phil Gramm, and Steve Forbes signed up. We are getting a lot of that kind of good support from across the party, but we have got a lot of work to do."

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁵ Romney is trailing McCain in the polls and is counting on conservatives to support his campaign on Tuesday. During an appearance on CNN's Late Edition, he said on many key issues, John McCain is too liberal to be the Republican nominee⁶.

"He is not in the mainstream⁷ of the Republican Party and in some respects this is a battle for the heart and soul of our party and, of course, our nation as well," said Romney.

The two remaining candidates for the Democratic nomination are already talking about taking on McCain in the general election campaign. On the CBS program Face the Nation, Barack Obama said he will win both the nomination and the presidency⁸ by bringing in new voters who have been disenchanted with the political process.

"I think if we can continue to bring people who have not been voting - younger voters, independents, and even some disenchanted Republicans - then I think we will do pretty well," said Obama.

Obama said Hillary Clinton will galvanize Republicans. But Clinton said she has the political experience necessary to withstand a tough national campaign.

"I have been through these Republican attacks over and over again and I believe that I have demonstrated that, much to the dismay of the Republicans, I can not only survive, but thrive," said Clinton.

During an appearance on ABC's This Week, Clinton stressed general elections are much tougher than primaries, and said she is the best person to lead the party against the Republicans.

1 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。

2 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

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 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。

6 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 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。