VOA慢速英语 2007 0908

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, former United States senator Fred Thompson announced his candidacy for 
Fred Thompson
president. He joins eight others competing for the Republican Party nomination¹ next year.

Fred Thompson arrived in Washington more than thirty years ago as a Senate committee lawyer for the Watergate investigation³. He represented Tennessee in the Senate from nineteen ninety-four to two thousand three. He decided⁴ to return to a job where he was already well known: acting⁵.

He has appeared in movies including "The Hunt for Red October." He played a New York City prosecutor⁶ for the past five seasons of the television show "Law and Order."

In fact, he has even played a president on TV. So it came as no surprise when he announced his candidacy as a guest on a late-night show. He made an official announcement in a Web video.

People thought Fred Thompson would enter the race months ago. He supports President Bush on the Iraq war and hopes to appeal to social conservatives. But he has had problems raising money and organizing a campaign.

So he is entering late -- too late, some say. Yet, in most public opinion studies, he was the second or third most popular choice for a Republican nominee⁷. And that was before he declared his candidacy.

He joins a group without a clear favorite. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been leading the Republican candidates nationally for months. But former Massachusetts governor Mitt² Romney is leading in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Republicans and Democrats⁸ are getting ready for the nominating process to begin in January. Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally hold the first votes for delegates, so these two states are important early tests.

The election is not until November. But many states are moving their primary and caucus⁹ votes to early in the year. February fifth is going to be a big day. A shorter primary season will increase pressure on candidates, especially any late arrivals.

Now, a listener in China, Simon Yuan from Jiangsu province, asks about the requirements for an American president.

Presidents must be at least thirty-five years old and natural-born citizens of the United States. They must also have lived in the country for at least fourteen years. These requirements are in the Constitution.

Simon Yuan also asks how many presidents have been members of the Democratic Party. Of the forty-three presidents, fourteen have been Democrats. Eighteen have been Republicans. In the past, the Republicans were the more liberal party and the Democrats were the more conservative.

Presidents have also belonged to parties that no longer exist: The Federalists. The Whigs. The Democratic-Republican Party, and the Democratic/National Union. The first president, George Washington, belonged to no political party at all.

And that's IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. If you have a question about the American political process, we might be able to answer it on the air. Write to [email protected]. I'm Steve Ember.

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 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。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 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》

9 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。