VOA常速英语2019--民主党总统候选人准备周三的辩论

Democratic Presidential Contenders Prepare for Wednesday Debate

It will be another crowded debate stage in Atlanta with ten Democrats¹ vying² for the spotlight³.

这将是亚特兰大又一个拥挤的辩论舞台，十名民主党人将争夺焦点。 

The two leading contenders former Vice⁴ President Joe Biden and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren will be center stage.

前副总统乔·拜登和马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦将是两位主要竞争者。 

But one candidate drawing extra attention at the moment is South Bend Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg.

但目前引起特别关注的一位候选人是印第安纳州南本德市长皮特·布蒂吉格。 

Polls show Buttigieg has surged into a lead in Iowa, the state that will kick off the caucus⁵ and primary voting in February.

民调显示，布蒂吉格在爱荷华州的支持率已经飙升至领先地位，爱荷华州将在2月份启动核心会议和初选投票。

“The more voters hear my message, the more supportive they become, and the more we’re able to grow our base.”

“越多选民听到我的信息，他们就会越支持我，我们就越有能力扩大我们的基础。” 

Biden continues to lead in national polls and argues he would be the strongest candidate to take on President Trump⁶ next year.

拜登继续在全国民调中领先，并认为他将是明年与特朗普总统较量的最强候选人。 

“Let me say this, whomever among us ends up being the nominee⁷ for the Democratic Party,

“让我这么说吧，不管我们之中最终谁成为民主党的候选人， 

the next president is going to inherit two things for certain, a nation that’s divided and a world in disarray⁸.”

下一任总统肯定会继承两样东西，一个分裂的国家和一个混乱的世界。” 

Warren also remains⁹ near the top of the Democratic field but finds herself on the defensive¹⁰ of late over her sweeping¹¹ plan for a government health care program, Medicare for all.

沃伦在民主党阵营保持第二的位置，但她最近在为自己的政府医疗保健全面计划——全民医保计划——进行辩护。

“Come caucus for me and come fight alongside me because this is our time to dream big to fight hard and to win.”

“来参加我的核心会议，和我并肩作战，因为这是我们实现伟大梦想的时刻，我们要努力战斗，争取胜利。”

One new Democratic contender who will not be in the debate is former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick who announced last week that he was entering the race.

一位不会参加辩论的新晋民主党竞争者是前马萨诸塞州州长德瓦尔·帕特里克，他上周宣布他将参加竞选。

“This campaign and I think it’s an opportunity to, to bring people together.”

“我认为这次竞选是一个让人们团结起来的机会。” 

Also, former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg may join the race as well.

此外，前纽约市市长、亿万富翁迈克尔·布隆伯格也可能参加竞选。 

The entry of additional candidates raises questions about the current field of contenders, says analysts¹², Larry Sabato.

分析师拉里·萨巴托表示，新候选人的加入引发了人们对当前竞争者的质疑。 

“It’s obvious many Democratic leaders are very worried about the top echelon¹³.

“很明显，许多民主党领导人都非常担心高层梯队。 

Each of the candidates has problems, too old, too young, over experience, under experience, and then too far left, too far right. You name it.”

每个候选人都有问题，太老、太年轻、经验过多、经验不足，然后太激进、太保守。应有尽有。” 

Eight other contenders will be on stage for the Atlanta debate,

其他八名竞争者将登上亚特兰辩论的舞台， 

including Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, California senator Kamala Harris, Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and New Jersey¹⁴ senator Cory Booker.

包括佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯、加利福尼亚州参议员卡马拉·哈里斯、明尼苏达州参议员埃米·克洛布彻和新泽西州参议员科里·布克。

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 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

9 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。

10 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

11 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

12 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。

13 echelon   

n.梯队；组织系统中的等级；v.排成梯队

参考例句：

• What kind of friends can be considered the first echelon of the friends?那什么样的朋友才能算第一梯队的朋友？
• These are the first echelon members.这些是我们的第一梯队的队员。

14 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。