VOA标准英语2008年-Democrats Move to Unify Obama, Clinton Factions

U.S. Democrats¹ have made an important decision regarding their national nominating convention later this month in Denver, Colorado. The party has decided² that the name of Senator Hillary Clinton will be placed in nomination³, even though Senator Barack Obama remains⁴ on track to be confirmed as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee⁵ at the end of the four-day convention that begins on August 25. VOA's National Correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
　

Hillary Clinton holds shirt supporting Obama (file)

Senators Obama and Clinton issued a joint⁶ statement on the decision Thursday. Obama said the process of placing Clinton's name in nomination would honor her historic campaign and bring the Democratic Party together.

Senator Clinton added that with the party strongly united, Obama would be elected president and would put the country on the path to peace and prosperity.

Clinton would have been the first female presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party, while Obama is on track to become the first African-American major party nominee for the White House.

Obama effectively secured the Democratic nomination in June, after winning a majority of delegates chosen from party caucuses⁷ and primaries as well as Democratic superdelegates. Superdelegates are Democratic Party elected officeholders and activists⁸ who automatically vote at the national party convention.

Democrats hope that the symbolic⁹ gesture of placing Senator Clinton's name in nomination will help heal the serious rift¹⁰ in the party that developed during the lengthy¹¹ and bruising¹² primary fight between Clinton and Senator Obama.

Senator Clinton is scheduled to address the convention on its second night, August 26. And a number of Clinton supporters intend to demonstrate their loyalty¹³ to her at the national convention in Denver. But some Obama supporters are concerned that the expressions of support for Clinton might hinder party unity¹⁴ and take the spotlight¹⁵ away from the presumptive nominee.

Pew Research Center pollster Andrew Kohut says Obama needs to pay tribute to Clinton during the convention to ensure he wins over her supporters in the November election.

"The problem is most difficult for Obama with older women. There are probably a couple of strikes there. Older people have more concerns about his lack of experience and older women were pretty strong backers of Senator Clinton," he said.

Some analysts¹⁶ have found a surprising number of Clinton supporters still reluctant to back Obama.

Clay Richards is a pollster with Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Quinnipiac is conducting regular presidential polls in three states that are expected to be closely contested in November - Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"There is still some indication in Pennsylvania that there are still some unhappy Clinton voters there. Fourteen percent of the Democrats in the state say they are voting for Senator McCain. We will have to watch and see where that goes. If indeed those Democrats come home [i.e., vote Democrat], then Senator Obama is probably home free in Pennsylvania," he said.

Republicans hold their national convention the first week in September in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, where they are expected to formally nominate Senator John McCain as their presidential nominee.

1 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》

2 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。

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 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。

5 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。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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

8 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》

9 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

10 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

13 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

14 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

15 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。