美国国家公共电台 NPR Costliest Congressional Race In History Sees First Debate

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The two candidates running for an open House seat in Georgia held their first debate last night. NPR's Brian Naylor reports on the race that has become the most expensive congressional campaign in American history.

BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE¹: Nearly $30 million has been raised by the candidates and outside groups hoping to win Georgia's 6th Congressional District in the suburbs north of Atlanta. And all that money lead to some tough sparring last night between Democrat² Jon Ossof and Republican Karen Handel in the studios of WSB-TV. Handel said Ossof was fueling the cash influx³.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KAREN HANDEL: My opponent has more donors⁴ and more dollars coming from outside of the state of Georgia. They are coming from Nancy Pelosi, California, New York, Massachusetts. He doesn't want the people of Georgia to know that he is a liberal Democrat.

NAYLOR: In fact, Ossof has raised more than $8 million - most of it online, much of it from Democrats⁵ anxious to send a message to President Trump⁶. Ossof said his support came from small donors.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JON OSSOF: The average contribution to my campaign is less than $50. And in stark⁷ contrast, Secretary Handel, like so many career politicians in both parties who are mired⁸ in gridlock in Washington, has had her campaign bailed⁹ out by anonymous¹⁰ Washington super PACs who are spending unprecedented¹¹ amounts on attack ads here.

NAYLOR: Echoing some of his TV ads, Ossof repeatedly raised Handel's tenure¹² as an official with the Susan G. Komen Foundation where she was part of efforts to end grants for Planned Parenthood - a big part, charged Ossof.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

OSSOF: And you led an effort to defund lifesaving breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood. And as has been reported, this cost to the Komen Foundation, tens of millions of dollars or more in lost revenues after you resigned amidst the scandal.

NAYLOR: But Handel played down her role.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HANDEL: I was one of hundreds of employees at the Komen Foundation. Secondly¹³, I was tasked by the CEO and chairman of the board to develop options for how the organization could disengage from Planned Parenthood. Why? Because the grants were not effective.

NAYLOR: There's another debate scheduled this week, and more dollars are coming into the campaign from Republicans eager to hold onto a seat they've held for decades and Democrats who see a chance not only to send a message to Trump but to lay the groundwork for a possible takeover of the House in 2018. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Atlanta.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

4 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》

5 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》

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 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

8 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

10 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

12 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。