VOA常速英语2008年-Romney Drops Out of Race for US Presidential No

By Cindy Saine
Washington
07 February 2008

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney has suspended his presidential campaign, making it all but certain that his rival, Republican frontrunner Senator John McCain, will be their party's nominee² for the White House in November. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Speaking to an admiring audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C., former Governor Romney admitted that it was not easy for him to quit the race after campaigning hard across the country for a full year.

"This is not an easy decision," he said. "I hate to lose. My family, my friends, you, my supporters across the country. You have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot to becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But it has never been only about me."

The former governor and successful businessman has fought a tough and at times contentious³ battle for the nomination⁴ against Senator McCain. Romney has said he is the true conservative in the race, seeking to encourage mistrust of McCain, considered by some Republicans an unreliable maverick⁵ because of his positions on immigration and campaign finance reform.

Romney did not formally endorse⁶ McCain. But he did say that although he and McCain disagree on many issues, they agree on doing whatever it takes to win in Iraq and in the war on terror. He said their Democratic opponents, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to "retreat" from Iraq and the war on terror.

"Now if I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention," he said. "I want you to know, I have given this a lot of thought. I would forestall⁷ the launch of a national campaign. And frankly⁸ I would be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. Frankly in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Republicans use a winner-take-all system in awarding delegates for the nomination in most states. Arizona Senator John McCain emerged from Super Tuesday as his party's clear frontrunner, with 707 of the more than 1,000 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Romney has 294 delegates, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has 195 and Texas Congressman⁹ Ron Paul has 14. Huckabee and Paul are still in the race.

On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama are virtually even in the race for delegates. But Senator Obama has raised more than $7 million for his presidential campaign in the hours since Super Tuesday, while Senator Clinton says she loaned her campaign $5 million of her own money late last month.

The campaigns are looking ahead to contests this Saturday in Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington state, and February 12 primaries in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

1 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。

2 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。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

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 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

6 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

7 forestall   

vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止

参考例句：

• I left the room to forestall involvements.我抢先离开了这房间以免受牵累。
• He followed this rule in order to forestall rumors.他遵守这条规矩是为了杜绝流言蜚语。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。