万花筒 2009-07-29&07-30 裸男选市长

'You're gonna have to write me in, come November 3rd.'

He's made a career of strumming his guitar and showing some skin, well, quite a lot of skin. Now the man known as the naked cowboy, is hoping to muscle his way into the mayor's office.

'Folks, these are difficult times, and when the going gets tough, you need a cowboy.'

Robert Burck, AKA the naked cowboy, has been a fixture¹ of Time Square for years. Come rain or shine he wears nothing but cowboy boots, a Stetson hat and tight-fitting white briefs. He is now running for mayor of New York city on a platform that promises a whole new level of transparency.

(Hey) 'Folks, nobody has been more exposed to the entire world, out here than yours truly, and you can bet I will bring that same naked truth to running this city as to everything else that I do',

 Burck has specific plans for the city of New York including giving interest-free micro-loans to a thousand small businesses, opening a wedding chapel² in Time Square that would rival Las Vegas and putting renewable energy to work through the use of solar panels and wind farms. He may be a hit with the tourists but it remains³ to be seen if he can get residence to the ballot⁴ box.

“I think it is kind of a joke, but it is very novel. No doubt about it, and I’m sure he is gonna get a lot of votes.”

“I don't think he stands a chance at all, but I still hope he wins.”

Burck's main opponent in November's election will be incumbent⁵ Michael Bloomberg. With no strong competitors out here, it's doubtful Bloomberg is shaking in his boots.

Karina Huber, Reuters.

Write sb in: to write a person's name on the voting paper and vote for him or her

AKA: also known as

Stand a chance: to have the possibility of being successful in doing sth

Shake in one’s boots: to be afraid of; to shake from fear

1 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

2 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 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。

5 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。