VOA标准英语2009年-Young Obama Supporters Remember Election V

By Carla Babb
Washington
09 November 2009
 
President Barack Obama
It has been one year since Barack Obama's presidential election victory. The newest U.S. president has faced political and economic challenges at home and has yet to decide how the United States will handle the international war on terror. Some American youth gathered in small groups across the country to remember the excitement surrounding Mr. Obama's historic electoral victory. 

It was one year ago, when young Barack Obama supporters at colleges across the country poured into the streets to celebrate his presidential election victory.

Now, cars casually¹ cross the same intersection² at the University of North Carolina at Chapel³ Hill that was flooded with students last year. But while the throngs⁴ of people may be gone, the message from supporters like Duke University student Giles Harrison-Conwill remains⁵.

"Obama for me sort of shows that certain things that are unthinkable today, within nine months, six months, a year, can be possible," he said.

The Democratic National Committee group called "Obama for America" during the campaign changed its name to "Organizing for America" after Mr. Obama's Inauguration⁶. State organizer Zack Hawkins says the group is the first grassroots team put together for a sitting president.

"It is a very, very special way to bring people in around not only the candidate, like they did during the campaign, but now supporting his agenda," Hawkins said. "Thirteen million e-mail addresses and the millions of people that voted now have a chance to stay as connected, if not more connected."

 
Voters stand in line outside DC voting precinct 135 at Mount Bethel Baptist Church in NW section of Washington, DC, November 4, 2008 
It is fitting that on the anniversary of Mr. Obama's election win, supporters in Durham, North Carolina, chose to celebrate near a college campus. National exit polls indicated two-thirds of young voters between the ages of 18 - 29 voted for Mr. Obama. Hawkins says young Americans are the key to Mr. Obama's grassroots operation.

"They put together rallies. They work on getting people to commit to calling their members of Congress, getting people to make phone calls," Hawkins said. "They are very motivated students that support and understand the issues in front of us."

But volunteer Damian Smith says the younger generation can sometimes be the hardest to keep involved.

"Because a lot of them feel like 'Oh I voted, I have done my job', but you have a responsibility to your friends and neighbors to be active and participate in the community you live in," Smith noted⁷.

Mr. Obama's supporters had another taste of victory late Saturday, when the House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill that the president had pledged to push forward during his campaign. Now the bill has an uphill battle in the Senate before it can become law.

Smith says this fight is the responsibility he has been waiting for.

"Getting him elected was actually only part of the process," Smith said. "In order to achieve what you want, that's when the real work has to start. And you have to support that agenda that you voted for."

And supporters at the celebration proudly pointed⁸ out they have at least three more years to keep fighting for Mr. Obama's reforms.

1 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

2 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

3 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

4 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。