VOA常速英语2014--美国会中期选举 女性选民表示担忧

 

Women Voters Anxious Ahead of US Elections 美国会中期选举 女性选民表示担忧

CAPITOL HILL— 

With US elections just days away, public opinion polls show American voters are deeply dissatisfied with their government and anxious about threats from abroad. This is especially true for a key voting group both Republicans and Democrats¹ are trying hard to win over: women. Analysts² say if women are focused on national security, it could be bad news for Democrats, with majority control of the Senate at stake.

随着11月4号美国国会中期选举投票日临近，民调显示美国选民普遍对政府深感不满，也对国际上所面临的威胁忧心忡忡，值得关注的是，女性选民对这些问题更是忧虑。分析人士说，如果女性选民关注国家安全议题的话，对在参议院占多数的民主党来说将是个坏消息。

As Nicholas and Ibrahim run around in a playground in northern Virginia, their mothers, like many other women across the country, are concerned about economic and national security issues.

尼克拉斯和艾布拉罕在北维州的公园里无忧无虑的玩耍。但他们的母亲，就和其他美国女性一样，对经济和国家安全等议题深感担忧。

And both political parties know women in Tuesday's midterm elections will likely determine who controls the U.S. Senate and some governors' mansions³.

美国主要两大政党知道，女性选民在11月4号的中期选举中扮演至关重要的角色，有可能决定谁将控制参议院和部分州长的职位。

Alabama visitor Nancy Capiello said she's not planning to vote.

来自阿拉巴马州的卡佩洛说，她计划放弃投票。

“[In] this day and age I feel like I should be more concerned with my immediate⁴ family and unfortunately those other influences go by the wayside, because I feel like nobody’s doing anything to save us or protect us in any way,” said Capiello.

南西. 卡佩洛  阿拉巴马州居民说：“到了这个时候，这个年纪，我觉得我应该要更关心我身边的至亲家人。很不幸，其他问题都显得不重要，因为我觉得没有人真正在做事保护我们，照顾我们。”

Hawa Coulibaly of Virginia said she does plan to vote, and has been paying close attention.

维吉尼亚州的科莉贝里说，她会去投票，并一直在关注选战。

“I am concerned about what’s going on but I feel that our government has control of it. I feel like the government is doing the best that it can at this point,” said Coulibaly.

哈瓦.科莉贝里   维吉尼亚州居民哈瓦.科莉贝里说：   “我对时事很关心，我觉得我们政府已掌控局势，我认为在这个阶段政府已经尽力做好一切。”

These responses from the playground reflect what women are telling pollsters.

这些回应反映了女性选民在回答民调问题时的答案。

Margie Omero of the Purple Strategies public research firm in Virginia called the national mood “miserable.”

维吉尼亚州“紫色战略公共研究中心”的欧梅罗形容，这种心情是“很悲惨的”。

“People are feeling a little bit better economically, at least that hasn’t worsened, but you’ve seen economic anxiety replaced by worries about government dysfunction and international instability - ISIS or Ebola or international volatility⁵, school violence, school shootings, crime,” said Omero.

欧梅罗 说：“一般人会感觉经济有好转，或至少没有继续恶化下去。但你看到的是对经济的不安被对政府失灵和国际局势不稳定的担忧所取代。这些因素包括了伊斯兰国、埃博拉或国际动乱、校园暴力、校园枪击和犯罪等。”

Neil Newhouse, a pollster with Public Opinion Strategies in Virginia, agreed and said this could be bad news for Democrats.

维吉尼亚州“公共意见战略中心”的民调人员纽尔豪斯对此表示同意，他还说，这对民主党来说是个坏消息。

“We’ve had now 114 straight months where Americans believe their country is headed in the wrong direction. This is the longest sustained period of pessimism⁶ that we’ve seen for like 30 years in this country,” said Newhouse.

纽尔豪斯 说：“我们发现已经连续114个月美国民众认为国家现在正朝着错误的方向前进。这是美国民众过去30年来维持时间最久的悲观态度。”

Newhouse pointed⁷ out that there has been a gender⁸ gap in U.S. politics for decades.

纽尔豪斯说，好几十年来，美国政治一直存在性别差异。

“Men are significantly more Republican, women are more Democratic and you know, men vote more economic issues, women vote more personal security issues,” said Newhouse.

纽尔豪斯说：“男性主要偏向共和党，女性则倾向于民主党。男性通常以经济因素来决定投票，而女性则较关注个人安全议题。”

And even within the group of women voters, there is another divide, said Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution.

布鲁金斯学会的沙希尔说，即使都是女性选民，也出现分歧。

“Married women actually are more likely to vote Republican than Democratic, whereas unmarried women are much more likely to vote for the Democrats so there’s not just a gender divide that tends to favor the Democrats overall,” said Sawhill.

 沙希尔说：“已婚女性通常比较可能投给共和党，但未婚女性比较可能支持民主党，因此，并非单纯在性别差异上出现偏好民主党的情况。”

As Nancy and Hawa told VOA on the playground, many American women say they would like for Congress and the president to work together to address their concerns.

卡佩洛和科莉贝里告诉VOA，许多美国女性说他们希望美国国会和总统能够好好合作，解决他们的忧虑。

1 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》

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 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

6 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

7 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。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。