VOA标准英语2012--Two Parties Have Dominated US Politics for 150 Years

Two Parties Have Dominated US Politics for 150 Years

The Democratic and Republican parties are the dominant² political forces in the U.S. Between them, they have controlled the White House and Congress for one-and-a-half centuries. 

Both parties trace their lineage back to the founding of the United States in the late 1700s. By the mid-1800s, both had essentially³ become the parties known today.

In the 20th century, each party had a president who became an icon⁴ representing its principles.

Republican Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. He promoted an agenda the party still follows, as the Republican National Committee's Sean Spicer explains.

"The Republican Party is the party of limited government, lower taxes, free enterprise, and generally supports a fairly conservative agenda," he said. 

The Democratic Party's iconic figure is Franklin D. Roosevelt. He became president in 1933, at the height of the Great Depression. FDR, as he was called, launched the "New Deal," with government-driven economic and social reforms to protect the working class. Melanie Roussell is the Democratic National Committee spokeswoman.

"Democrats⁵ have always tried to help working people establish the American dream by providing help to buy a home, to sending your kids to college, to helping⁶ the elderly - older people, seniors, to live a life that they can afford," said Melanie Roussell, the Democratic National Committee spokeswoman. "It's really about government working with people."

The two parties appeal to different social, demographic, and even ethnic⁷ groups. Democrat¹ Roussell says her party's following today reflects Franklin Roosevelt's focus.

"Our core constituent⁸ groups, I would say, are young Americans, women, African Americans, Hispanic voters," she said. "Again, we are the party of inclusion." 

The Republican Party's support includes tradition-oriented, white voters with conservative Christian⁹ religous views. 

While the party has been the long-time choice of the upper classes, Ronald Reagan, and an earlier Republican president, Richard Nixon, attracted working-class voters who had traditionally supported the Democrats. And spokesman Sean Spicer says in the 1990s the Republicans saw a number of shifts, bringing voters in new areas. 

"We started to see a bit of a transition where the Republican Party grew a lot more in the South, and ebbed¹⁰ a little in the Northeast," he said. "Now, what you are seeing is a lot more of the party trying to push out into the Midwest, to grow stronger in places like New Mexico and Colorado, Nevada, where we are seeing a lot of the party's growth. 

The current president, Barack Obama, is a Democratic. His predecessor¹¹, President George W. Bush, is a Republican. 

1 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。

2 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

5 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》

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 constituent   

n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的

参考例句：

• Sugar is the main constituent of candy.食糖是糖果的主要成分。
• Fibre is a natural constituent of a healthy diet.纤维是健康饮食的天然组成部分。

9 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。

10 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

11 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。