VOA标准英语2010年-US Election Campaign Heads Into Final

There are less than two weeks left in the U.S. congressional midterm election campaign, and analysts² say opposition³ Republicans appear poised⁴ to make significant gains on November 2.

Several recent public opinion surveys show Republicans holding an edge among registered voters. The latest Gallup poll finds 48 percent supporting Republican candidates, and 43 percent favoring Democratic candidates. But among likely voters surveyed, the Republican margin⁶ is greater. And experts say the Republican edge among likely voters in numerous surveys points to significant gains in November at the expense of Democrats⁷.

Democrats are doing all they can to mobilize their voters in the final two weeks of the campaign. Among those lending a hand is first lady Michelle Obama, who spoke⁸ recently at a Democratic Party fundraising event in New York.
"We are not there just because of an election. We are not there just because we support folks that we love. We are here to renew that promise," said President Obama.

One of the most visible Republicans on the campaign trail this year is former Alaska Governor and vice⁹ presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Palin kicked off a Tea Party bus tour in Nevada that will travel to 19 states in hopes of generating support for Republican candidates on Election Day.

"Mr. Obama and your czars, you are next because now we can see 2012 from our house!" said Palin.

There has been a flurry of contentious¹⁰ candidate debates around the country in recent days. And on television, the candidate ad wars are heating up.

One of the most hard-fought races in the country is the battle for a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky between Democrat⁵ Jack¹¹ Conway and Republican Rand Paul, a favorite of grassroots conservative and libertarian activists¹² who make up the Tea Party movement.

Conway is running television ads accusing Paul of belonging to an anti-Christian group when he was a college student.

CONWAY AD: "Why was Rand Paul a member of a secret society that called the Holy Bible a hoax¹³?"

Paul reacted angrily to Conway during a recent debate.

"Jack, you should be ashamed of yourself," Paul retorted. "You should apologize. Have you no decency¹⁴?"

Political experts say Republicans are on track to benefit this year from voter anger and frustration¹⁵ over the domestic economy and the high unemployment rate.

Allan Lichtman is a presidential historian at American University here in Washington:

"But certainly, if the economy is bad, bad things are going to happen for the party holding the White House. As [a former President] Herbert Hoover said, 'the president gets the credit for the sunshine and the blame for the rain,'" noted¹⁶ Lichtman.

President Barack Obama has a lot at stake in the November elections. A Republican takeover of one or both houses of Congress would have a huge impact on the president's domestic agenda, says analyst¹ Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News.

"But I think the House [of Representatives] will go Republican and what it really means is that for the more ambitious elements of President Obama's legislative¹⁷ agenda, you can just kiss goodbye for the next two years," said DeFrank.

Republicans need a gain of 39 seats in the 435-member House of Representatives to retake control of that chamber¹⁸ and they need a 10-seat gain to win a majority in the 100-member Senate. Republicans lost control of both chambers¹⁹ to Democrats in the last midterm elections in 2006.
 

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 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。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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》

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 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》

13 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

14 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

15 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

16 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。

17 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

18 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

19 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网