VOA常速英语2008年-Obama, McCain Gain Big Wins in Mid-Atlantic Pri

By Jim Malone
Washington
13 February 2008

Democrat¹ Barack Obama and Republican John McCain were the big winners Tuesday in presidential primaries in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the U.S. presidential race from Washington.

Barack Obama is on a roll.

"We have now won east and west and north and south and across the heartland of this country we love," he said.

Obama won all three primaries by a comfortable margin². He won about 90 percent of the African-American vote in all three contests and broadened his base of support among white voters, including both men and women.

Eager to look ahead, Hillary Clinton is already campaigning in Texas, which holds its primary on March 4.

"I am tested. I am ready," she said. "Let us make it happen!"

The latest delegate estimates give Obama a modest lead over Clinton. The Associated Press count shows both candidates with about 1,200 committed delegates.

It takes 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination³ in the state-by-state primary and caucus⁴ balloting⁵ that will culminate⁶ in the party's national nominating convention in Colorado in late August.

Obama is favored in next Tuesday's contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii, while Clinton hopes to rebound⁷ in Texas and Ohio on March 4.

In the Republican presidential race, Senator John McCain of Arizona solidified⁸ his grip on the party nomination with convincing victories in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Increasingly, McCain is turning his attention to the general election campaign against the Democrats⁹.

"We do not yet know for certain who will have the honor of being the Democratic Party's nominee¹⁰ for president," he said. "But we know where each of their candidates will lead this country, and we dare not let them!"

Most estimates give McCain about 800 committed delegates, well on the way to the 1,191 required to win the Republican nomination.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee remains¹¹ in the race and continues to draw conservative voters who oppose McCain's record on tax cuts and immigration.

The next Republican contest is Tuesday in Wisconsin.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 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。

4 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。

5 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

6 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

7 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

8 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

9 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》

10 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。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。