VOA标准英语2014--众议员领袖康托在选举失利后辞职

 

Cantor Resigns House Leadership Post After Shocking Election Loss 众议员领袖康托在选举失利后辞职

CAPITOL HILL — House Majority leader Eric Cantor -- the second most powerful man in the U.S. House of Representatives -- has been unexpectedly defeated in a Republican primary election, sending shockwaves throughout the U.S. Capitol and beyond. Cantor lost to a little-known conservative opponent, David Brat¹, who portrayed² Cantor as being too soft on the divisive issue of immigration reform.

Some were hoping Cantor would become the first Jewish American Speaker of the House. He reacted swiftly, though, to Tuesday's surprise defeat.

"Effective July 31st I will be stepping down as Majority Leader. It is with great humility³ that I do so," said Cantor.

Upstart surprises

His opponent, an economics professor, called his upset victory a miracle.

"All right, everybody, I want to give thanks endlessly tonight. This is the happiest moment, obviously, of my life, and I owe it to all of you in this room, number one. So give yourselves a hand," said Brat

Brat accused Cantor of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants and their children, which Cantor denied.  

The Republican House leadership has rejected persistent⁴ calls by immigration rights activists⁵ and Democrats⁷ to allow a vote in the House on immigration reform.

Asked whether the issue is now dead, political analyst⁸ Geoffrey Skelley of the University of Virginia said via Skype that any time a prominent member of Congress loses a primary, other members take notice.

“I think it will make it more difficult to find Republican votes to pass immigration reform or even bring it to the floor in fear of angering people who will vote against them in the primaries,” he said.

Various factors

Other analysts⁹ agree that immigration reform was a factor, but believe that Cantor’s defeat is more emblematic¹⁰ of a widespread disgust among many people with the establishment in Washington.

Republican pollster Jon McHenry pointed¹¹ out that a Senate race in South Carolina turned out differently.

“You see on the same day that [Eric] Cantor loses [Senator] Lindsey Graham, who has voted for a comprehensive immigration reform bill, wins with 56 percent of the vote,” he said.

Democrats took to the floor of the House and Senate to say Republicans should not use Cantor’s loss as an excuse not to act on immigration.

“Every time I talked to Republican members, business leaders, growers and faith leaders about immigration reform in the last several months, I consistently heard that the House leadership wanted to move forward but they did not have Cantor’s support,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat⁶.

After this political earthquake, House Republicans likely will be busy with their own internal leadership battles in the weeks to come.

1 brat   

n.孩子；顽童

参考例句：

• He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
• The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

2 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 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》

6 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。

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 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。

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 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

11 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。