VOA标准英语2012--Romney Takes Major Step Toward Republican Nomination

Romney Takes Major Step Toward Republican Nomination¹

Mitt² Romney continues to win the key primary battles with Rick Santorum as he moves ever closer to becoming the presumptive Republican candidate against President Barack Obama in the November election.

Romney got another boost in the wake of his victory in Illinois when he won the endorsement³ of former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Bush issued a written statement that said it was time Republicans unite behind Romney as their nominee⁴.

In his speeches, Romney mentions Santorum less and less and focuses most of his attention on drawing a contrast with President Obama.

"The genius of America is that we nurture⁵ those dreams and the dreamers," said Romney. "We honor them and yes, we reward them. That is part of what is uniquely brilliant about America. But day by day, job-killing regulation by job-killing regulation, bureaucrat⁶ by bureaucrat, this president is crushing the dream and the dreamers and I will make sure that finally ends!"

Romney's base of support among Republican voters includes those who say their top priority is defeating Obama in November. He also does well among Republicans who describe themselves as moderates.

Rick Santorum continues to draw support from religious voters and from Republicans who consider themselves very conservative. He argues that he would offer general election voters a bolder alternative to the president than would Romney.

"They want someone who is not going to go to Washington, D.C. because they want to be the most powerful person in the world to manage Washington," said Santorum. "They want someone who is going to take that power and give it back to the people of this country!"

It takes the support of 1,144 delegates to secure the Republican nomination at the party's nominating convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.

The latest Associated Press unofficial tally⁷ gives Romney more than 560 delegates, more than twice as many as Santorum.

Santorum is favored in the next primary in Louisiana on Saturday, but expert Henry Olsen of the American Enterprise Institute says Romney remains⁸ the strong favorite to eventually win the nomination.

"I think right now the way things are going, Mitt Romney just needs to be patient and he's going to be the nominee," noted⁹ Olsen.

Some analysts¹⁰ note that Republican voter turnout in the primaries and caucuses¹¹ this year is down from four years ago. Some party leaders have also expressed concern that the lengthy¹² and divisive primary campaign could hurt Republican chances in November.

But John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center expects that the Republican Party will unify¹³ behind its nominee in time for the general election campaign in November.

"I think there is a great likelihood at the end of the race that most Republican voters will come home, just as after the [Hillary] Clinton and [Barack] Obama race where there was bitterness and different types of voters, most Democratic voters ended up supporting the nominee," Fortier explained.

The delegate math demonstrates how difficult it would be for Santorum to overtake Romney at this point. Santorum would have to win about 70 percent of the remaining delegates at stake to win the nomination, while Romney only needs to win about 45 percent to emerge victorious¹⁴.

1 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。

2 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。

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 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。

5 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

6 bureaucrat   

n. 官僚作风的人，官僚，官僚政治论者

参考例句：

• He was just another faceless bureaucrat.他只不过是一个典型呆板的官员。
• The economy is still controlled by bureaucrats.经济依然被官僚们所掌控。

7 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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

12 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。

13 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

14 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。