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VOA慢速英语--与历任总统相比 拜登并没有那么大的不同

时间:2021-01-21 01:30:32

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(单词翻译)

When you consider his background, Joe Biden is not unique among past presidents. But perhaps that is why he won the election in November. It was his third try.

Biden first ran for president in 1988, looking to become the Democratic party's nominee1 at the end of Ronald Reagan's two terms in office. He did not get the nomination2.

He then ran again in 2008, as the Democrats3 looked for a candidate to go up against the Republicans after George W. Bush's two terms in office.

During the primaries, he did not get enough support. Barack Obama eventually became the nominee and chose Biden as his running mate in the race against John McCain.

The Obama-Biden team won the election, and Biden became Vice4 President for eight years.

He chose not to run for president at the end of Obama's term. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump5 were the candidates at the end of 2016.

In 2019, Biden announced his plans to run for the Democratic nomination for a third time. This time, he won, and faced off against Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

When Biden earned enough electoral college votes, he became President-elect of the United States. While this officially happened on December 14, 2020, many news organizations had called the race for Biden days after the November 3 vote.

Biden's inauguration6 is January 20. He will take the oath of office at noon.

When Biden repeats the oath with U.S. Supreme7 Court Chief Justice John Roberts, he will join a very limited group of men to ever win the presidency8.

To be part of such a group is unique. But among presidents, Biden is only unique in a few areas.

At 78, he will be the oldest man to take the oath of office. Donald Trump, at 70, had been the oldest. Twenty-five past presidents have been in their 50s.

Biden will only be the second Catholic to take the office. John F. Kennedy was the first.

Biden was born in Pennsylvania. But he started his political career in Delaware and is the first president to come from that state.

Only 19 states can claim a president. New York state has the most, with seven.

On paper, that is about all of Biden's presidential "uniqueness."

Biden has a law degree, which means he is not unique among presidents. Twenty-six other American presidents were lawyers.

At 183 centimeters, Biden is not especially tall. In fact, eight presidents have been that height.

Biden was formerly9 a member of congress, as a senator from Delaware. He served for 36 years. Twenty-five other congressmen became president.

Biden, however, was a young senator. He won his election at just 29. He was the sixth youngest.

Biden was Obama's vice president. Fifteen presidents were once the VP.

Perhaps some Americans might consider Biden "plain." Some political experts think that is why he won the election against the more flamboyant10 Trump.

Julie Pace is the Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press. In a November story published when it looked like Biden would become the president, she wrote about the campaign. She said Trump was not easily able to attack Biden.

She said Biden was not the most compelling speaker with the best ideas. But he was a good candidate because he made a favorable impression on Americans as vice president.

In fact, she wrote, for a plain candidate, what made Biden unique and earned him the most votes ever in a presidential election was that he was not Donald Trump.

At one point, it was not even clear that Biden wanted to run for president. But Pace credited Trump with helping11 Biden win.

"It was Trump who pulled him back into the arena12, who gave his campaign a sense of purpose. It is Trump who helped him win," she said.

Words in This Story

unique- adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

primary- n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election

oath- n. a formal and serious promise to tell the truth or to do something

plain- adj. not unusual or special in any way

flamboyant- adj. having a very noticeable quality that attracts a lot of attention

compelling- adj. very interesting : able to capture and hold your attention

impression- n. the effect or influence that something or someone has on a person's thoughts or feelings

arena- n. involved in politics, government, etc.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 nominee FHLxv     
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。
2 nomination BHMxw     
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。
3 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
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》
4 vice NU0zQ     
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 trump LU1zK     
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。
6 inauguration 3cQzR     
n.开幕、就职典礼
参考例句:
  • The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
  • Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。
7 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
8 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
9 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
10 flamboyant QjKxl     
adj.火焰般的,华丽的,炫耀的
参考例句:
  • His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
  • The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。
11 helping 2rGzDc     
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。
12 arena Yv4zd     
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台
参考例句:
  • She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
  • He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

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