美国国家公共电台 NPR Faith Groups Get Out The Vote For The Midterm Elections

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, President Trump¹ has prayed with evangelicals at the White House. He's nominated judges to federal courts that his evangelical supporters like, and he has pleased them with his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Now he has a request for them - get out the vote in November's midterm elections. But religious leaders on the left are inspiring their people to go to the polls, as well. NPR's Jerome Socolovsky has more.

JEROME SOCOLOVSKY, BYLINE²: In the heart of the Virginia Theological Seminary campus, there's a pub. And in that pub, the school's registrar³, Rachel Holm, is hosting a game of election trivia.

RACHEL HOLM: So what are the three topics millennial⁴ voters care about most when voting?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Themselves, themselves, themselves.

HOLM: No.

(LAUGHTER)

SOCOLOVSKY: Joking aside, Holm draws the attention of this 20 and 30-something crowd to a table that has a computer on it open to a local voter registration⁵ portal.

HOLM: What we're doing over here is if you want to check your registration status to see where am I registered to vote? If you have moved to Virginia and you have your driver's license⁶ and you've done that, we can get you registered to vote over here using the website.

SOCOLOVSKY: Registering students to vote may be different from Holms' day job of registering them for courses in subjects such as pastoral care or practical theology. But the leadership of this Episcopal seminary feels called in the Trump era to encourage young voters.

HOLM: Because of the 2016 election, I think that that really woke a lot of people up and saw that the religious right is so organized and so behind this candidate, and maybe we don't agree with a lot of their positions.

SOCOLOVSKY: When he was running for office, Trump promised to appoint conservative judges. So some key evangelical leaders argued that his personal history should be overlooked, and many voters seemed to have done just that. According to exit polls, 81 percent of white evangelicals cast ballots⁷ for Trump. And this November...

JENNA ELLIS: I hope the number is even higher.

SOCOLOVSKY: Jenna Ellis is with the James Dobson Family Institute in Colorado Springs, where she coordinates⁸ the Pray, Engage, Vote initiative. She's concerned what might happen with abortion⁹ or, say, a baker¹⁰ who refuses to make a cake for a same-sex wedding if Democrats¹¹ win the House or Senate and eventually get liberal justices on the Supreme¹² Court.

ELLIS: I would love to see even more evangelicals understand what is at stake in this election, understand what voting our values means.

SOCOLOVSKY: One Trump promise conservative evangelicals are excited about is a repeal¹³ of the Johnson Amendment¹⁴. It strips tax exempt¹⁵ status from faith groups that endorse¹⁶ candidates. Many other religious leaders oppose a repeal. They don't want their churches, mosques¹⁷, synagogues and temples drawn¹⁸ into political campaigning. But that's a luxury they can't afford, says Megan Black, a national organizer for the progressive group Faith in Action.

MEGAN BLACK: I think that the desire to remove one's self from the political arena¹⁹, especially today, when there is so much at stake for so many people, is a privilege that is exercised inappropriately.

SOCOLOVSKY: Her group is trying to get one million new or lapsed²⁰ voters out to the polls. For Faith in Action, the main moral issues are voter suppression, immigration crackdowns and police shootings. Back at the seminary, Dillon Green (ph), a first-year student from Alabama, believes in mixing his religion with his politics.

DILLON GREEN: So yeah. I mean, that's one of the reasons I'm passionate²¹ about voting is because I want to help be part of that to say, you know, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe, you know, in liberal, progressive values.

SOCOLOVSKY: Green hopes the religious left's renewed political zeal²² will yield fruit, but he also recognizes that conservative evangelical efforts to turn out the vote have been more productive. For both groups, the moral character of the country now hangs in the balance. Jerome Socolovsky, NPR News.

1 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。

2 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。

3 registrar   

n.记录员，登记员；(大学的)注册主任

参考例句：

• You can obtain the application from the registrar.你可以向注册人员索取申请书。
• The manager fired a young registrar.经理昨天解雇了一名年轻的记录员。

4 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

7 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》

8 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

11 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》

12 supreme   

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。

13 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

14 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

15 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

16 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

17 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

18 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 arena   

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。

20 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

22 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。