Four Republican Candidates to Face Off Super Tuesday

 　　In U.S. presidential politics, the four remaining Republican contenders are headed for a major showdown Tuesday when 10 states hold primary or caucus¹ votes on the same day, with as many as 437 delegates at stake to the Republican nominating convention in August.  The so-called Super Tuesday slate² of contests will be a crucial test for the top two Republican candidates, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt³ Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

　　Super Tuesday is the single biggest primary day of the year and the outcome will likely have a big impact on the Republican race.

　　Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is hoping to build on the momentum⁴ from his victories in Arizona and Michigan and solidify⁵ his status as the clear frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination⁶.

　　“And the reason I am running in this race is to restore America’s promise to make sure that every person in this room knows the future is bright, we will be prosperous; we will be free, and this will remain the greatest nation on earth," he said.

　　Romney expects to do well in his home state of Massachusetts on Tuesday, plus Vermont and Virginia, where only he and Texas Congressman⁷ Ron Paul qualified⁸ for the ballot⁹.

　　Romney faces a challenge in several other states on Tuesday from former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

　　Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (file)

　　Santorum will focus his efforts in Tennessee, Oklahoma and especially Ohio, where the latest polls give him a slight lead over Romney.

　　Santorum continues to argue that he, and not Romney, is the true conservative in the Republican race.

　　“What is a winning formula is having better ideas.  Motivating the base of the Republican Party.  Being authentic," he said.  "Having the character to go out there and talk about core convictions in America.”

　　Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich hopes for a rebound¹⁰ with a victory in his home state of Georgia, but for the moment Santorum has largely eclipsed him as the leading conservative alternative to Romney.

　　Texas Congressman Ron Paul is hoping for a breakthrough in some of the smaller states voting on Tuesday like Idaho, Alaska and North Dakota.

　　Political strategist Matthew Dowd told ABC’s "Good Morning America" that Romney has an opportunity on Tuesday to solidify his status as the leading Republican contender.

　　“First, he has got to win conservative votes.  Second, he has got to put together a winning streak¹¹, and the third thing is he has got to be able to unite the party behind a positive message,” he said.

　　Both Romney and Santorum are focused on economic issues, especially in the key primary showdown in Ohio.

　　“Ohio voters are similar to Michigan voters in that they were hit very badly by the economy, and manufacturing jobs are key," said Jennifer Lawless, a political expert at American University in Washington.  "If a candidate is not compelling on the economy, that candidate is not going to do well.”

　　Most analysts¹² expect a split decision on Tuesday with Romney, Santorum and perhaps Gingrich emerging with some victories in the 10 states voting.

　　Romney leads in the delegate count at the moment with more than 160 delegates supporting him, but it takes a total of 1,144 to secure the Republican nomination, meaning the Republican race is likely to go on well after Super Tuesday.

1 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。

2 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

3 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。

4 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。

5 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

6 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。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 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。

11 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

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。