Perry quits U.S. presidential race, endorses Gingrich

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry announced Thursday that he's dropping out of the race for the GOP nomination¹ and endorsing² former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for president.

　　"I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable³ path forward for me in this 2012 campaign. Therefore today I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Newt Gingrich for president of the United States," Perry said at a press conference in North Charleston, South Carolina.

　　The objective is not only to defeat President Barack Obama, but to replace him with a conservative leader who will bring about real change, the governor said. "I believe Newt is a conservative visionary who can transform our country," he said.

　　Gingrich issued a statement expressing his appreciation⁴ for Perry's endorsement⁵ and asking Perry's supporters to rally around him.

　　"South Carolinians have a chance this Saturday to nominate a bold Reagan conservative who will offer a dramatic contrast with President Obama this fall in the general election," he said. "I ask the supporters of Governor Perry to look at my record of balancing the budget, cutting spending, reforming welfare, and enacting⁶ pro-growth policies to create millions of new jobs and humbly⁷ ask for their vote."

　　Perry's announcement came just two days ahead of a key nominating contest in South Carolina, the third in the primary and caucus⁸ calendar.

　　The governor surged to the top of the field soon after launching his bid last August. But due to a series of mistakes in GOP presidential debates, he dropped sharply in poll numbers and never got a rebound⁹. He finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses¹⁰ and largely skipped the New Hampshire primary.

　　South Carolina is supposed to be Perry's last chance to gain momentum¹¹ and stay alive. The state has a large population of social conservatives and evangelicals, a voting bloc¹² that Perry is popular with.

　　However, the governor currently stands at the bottom of the pack in South Carolina polls. An NBC-Marist survey released on Thursday showed Perry in fifth place among South Carolina GOP primary voters, with 4 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹³ Romney led with 34 percent, followed by Gingrich with 24 percent. House Representative of Texas Ron Paul came in third with 16 percent and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum at 14 percent.

　　Perry's dropping out and endorsement would be a boost for Gingrich's effort to unite conservative voters to battle long-time front-runner Romney.

　　Concerned about Romney's record of flip-flopping on some social issues, conservatives have been trying hard to find a non-Romney candidate for president, but so far failed to settle down on a single candidate, leaving votes splitting among Gingrich, Perry and Santorum.

　　Conservative leaders have been in intense negotiations¹⁴ in recent days to reach consensus¹⁵ on a single non-Romney candidate before Saturday's South Carolina primary. Some prominent conservatives have called for Perry to quit to narrow down their choices.

　　Perry was the second candidate to end presidential campaign this week. Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and former U.S. ambassador to China, announced Monday that he's dropping out of the race and endorsing Romney.

　　Huntsman has mostly failed to gain traction¹⁶ in this election season, staying at the bottom of the pack in major national polls. He skipped the Iowa caucuses and staked his candidacy almost entirely¹⁷ on a strong showing in the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire.

　　However, a third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary failed to bring the momentum he needed to keep his campaign going. He did not receive a significant boost out of New Hampshire, as seen in the case for Santorum after a strong showing in Iowa.

　　The dropping out of Huntsman and Perry made the South Carolina primary, the first in the south, even more competitive. South Carolina will be a pivotal battleground, analysts¹⁸ said, and the stakes are pretty high for all the contenders.

　　For Romney, who ended up in a virtual tie with Santorum in Iowa and won handily in New Hampshire, South Carolina will be a place that would decide whether he could lock up the nomination at an early stage and devote his time and resources to battling Obama.

　　For the rest of the field, a strong showing in South Carolina is badly needed to attract new donors¹⁹ to keep their campaigns going. This is particularly the case for Santorum, who is struggling with campaign funds despite newly-gained momentum out of Iowa.

1 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。

2 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

3 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

4 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

5 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

6 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

7 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

8 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。

9 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

10 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

11 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。

12 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

13 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。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

16 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 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。

19 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》