VOA标准英语2008年-South Carolina Residents Vote in US Presidentia

By Brian Wagner
Greenville, South Carolina
19 January 2008

Republican voters in South Carolina are casting ballots¹ in the party's presidential primary. In Greenville, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the outcome may signal a clear lead among the field's top three candidates.

After early primaries and caucuses³ in the Republican race for the presidential nomination⁴, no clear leader has emerged from the field of candidates.

Senator John McCain, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁵ Romney have each claimed at least one victory so far. A win in South Carolina could provide needed momentum⁶ in upcoming primaries.

McCain has emphasized his military experience during the campaign in South Carolina, home to many active and retired⁷ military personnel.

At a campaign stop Friday, the Arizona senator addressed fears of an economic recession, saying what he called "out of control" government spending is part of the problem.

"Stop the spending. If we don't stop the spending, it is all going to go out the door," he said.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, is expected to win support among the state's many Christian⁸ voters.

In his campaign, he appealed to religious opposition⁹ to gay marriage, saying, if elected, he would lead efforts to amend¹⁰ the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

"The fundamental unit of any government is family and strong marriages, and without that the rest of society begins to fall apart," he said.

Mitt Romney campaigned briefly¹¹ this week in South Carolina before flying to Nevada for the Republican caucus² there.

Former Senator Fred Thompson has been trailing the leading candidates so far, but hopes to make a strong showing in South Carolina, which is next to his home state of Tennessee.

Thompson has tried to separate himself from the other candidates by claiming he has the toughest policies to fight illegal immigration. During a rally on Friday, he told supporters that controlling immigration is a key component¹² of national security.

"Part of that national security issue involves our own borders," he said. "A nation that cannot secure its own borders will not remain a sovereign nation, and we need to understand that."

The South Carolina vote may be crucial in the selection of the Republican candidate for the November election. Since 1980, no Republican has gone to the White House without winning the state's primary.

South Carolina Democrats¹³ hold their primary next Saturday.

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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

4 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。

5 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。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 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》