VOA标准英语2011--Some Republicans Losing Faith in Rick Pe

Some Republicans Losing Faith in Rick Perry

It was only last month that Texas Governor Rick Perry decided¹ to enter the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination² and quickly zoomed³ to the top of public opinion polls. But in recent weeks Perry has stumbled in the candidate debates, and the new doubts about Perry have led some Republicans to renew pressure on New Jersey⁴ Governor Chris Christie to enter the race.
The first actual votes in the U.S. presidential nominating process are still months away, but it has already been a roller-coaster ride for Rick Perry.
Perry came into the race as a favorite among Christian⁵ conservative voters who also boasts a strong record of job-creation in Texas.
"America is going to be guided by some set of values," said Perry. "The question is going to be whose values and I would suggest most of the people in this audience believe it is those Christian values that this country was based upon."
But Perry has stumbled in recent debates, both in trying to attack his main rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁶ Romney, and in trying to defend his record as Texas governor.
Perry has also been criticized by conservative rivals for supporting a Texas law that allows the children of illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state university tuition rates.
Perry finished a disappointing second in a recent straw poll, or test vote, in Florida behind the surprise winner, Georgia businessman Herman Cain.
Cain told NBC's Today program that Perry's weak debate performances have raised questions among Republican voters as to whether he would be the strongest nominee⁷ against President Barack Obama in next year's election.
"I believe it hurt him a lot, not just in terms of what he said but in terms of how he said it," said Cain.
Other prominent Republicans are also raising questions about Perry's debate performances, including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who finished second to John McCain in the 2008 race for the Republican Party nomination.
"I think Rick Perry is not prepared for the pressure of the presidential stage yet," said Huckabee.
Some Republicans are concerned enough that they are urging New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to rethink his decision not to run for president.
Christie's blunt-spoken style is popular with Republican voters. But earlier this year Christie said he was not interested in running next year and so far there has been little public indication that he is willing to change his mind.
"I don't feel ready in my heart to be president," said Christie. "And unless I do, I don't have any right offering myself to the people of this country."
Republican pollster Frank Luntz says many Republicans would like to see Christie run for president.
"Republicans are so excited about the possibility of Christie getting into the race. I have not seen anything like this in my time in politics," noted⁸ Luntz.
Political analysts⁹ say Governor Perry must show improvement in upcoming debates or risk losing his frontrunner status.
David Gergen has served as an aide to Republican and Democratic presidents and teaches at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
"How long he will stay there we don't know," said Gergen. "It is unclear whether Governor Perry of Texas is a rising star or a shooting star and we will have to wait and see how the next few months go."
Perry still leads Romney in the latest CNN-ORC poll by a margin¹⁰ of 28 to 21 percent, but Perry's support is down slightly from the same poll two weeks ago.

1 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。

2 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。

3 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。