VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Candidates Pay Tribute on King

By Jim Malone
Washington
04 April 2008

The hard-fought U.S. presidential campaign was briefly¹ put on hold Friday as all three White House hopefuls paid tribute to the late civil rights leader, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Friday marked the 40th anniversary of King's assassination² at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The man seeking to become the first black U.S. president, Senator Barack Obama, spoke³ about King's legacy⁴ during a campaign stop in Indiana.

"To recognize that no matter what color of our skin, no matter what faith we practice, no matter how much money we have, no matter whether we are a sanitation⁵ worker or a United States Senator, we all have a stake in one another," he said. "We are our brother's keeper, we are our sister's keeper."

Obama's Democratic rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, traveled to Memphis to mark the anniversary of King's death, as did the presumptive Republican presidential nominee⁶, Senator John McCain.

Clinton is seeking to become the first woman president and paid tribute to King's efforts to bring about racial equality.

"Because of him, after 219 years, 43 presidents who have been white men, this next generation will grow up taking for granted that a woman or an African-American can be president of the United States of America," she said. "But as far as we have come, we know the journey is far from over."

Senator McCain spoke outside the motel where King was slain⁷, which now houses a museum on the civil rights movement.

McCain said the Reverend King seems a bigger man now than he did 40 years ago and praised the quality of his character.

McCain also acknowledged he made a mistake when he initially⁸ opposed the creation of a national holiday on King's birthday to honor his legacy.

"When I voted against a federal holiday in memory of Dr. King, I was wrong," he said. "We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing, and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans."

McCain has the luxury of preparing for the November election while Democrats⁹ Obama and Clinton continue to battle for their party's presidential nomination¹⁰.

But a new nationwide poll suggests U.S. voters are in the mood for change as the election approaches, and that could be sobering news for McCain and congressional Republicans in general.

A New York Times-CBS News poll found that 81 percent of those surveyed now believe the United States is headed in the wrong direction.

"Four out of five, 81 percent, say the country is on the wrong track," said Kathleen Frankovic, director of surveys for CBS News. "Just 14 percent say it is headed in the right direction. That number, 14 percent, is the lowest number we have ever seen in the 25 years since CBS News began asking Americans to tell us if the country was on the right track or the wrong track."

The same poll also suggested softening¹¹ support for Obama in his race with Clinton, and that the recent controversy¹² surrounding inflammatory statements by Obama's former pastor¹³ may be having an impact on the race.

The survey showed Obama leading Clinton nationally by a margin¹⁴ of 46 to 43 percent. That is well down from Obama's lead of 54 to 38 percent in late February.

The poll also showed both Democrats ahead of McCain in head to head match-ups. Obama ran ahead of McCain by 47 to 42 percent, while Clinton led McCain by 48 to 43 percent.

McCain is beginning to focus on his search for a vice¹⁵ presidential running mate while the next major test for the Democratic contenders is the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

1 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。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

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 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

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 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。

11 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

13 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

14 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。

15 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。