VOA常速英语2007年-Romney Assures US Voters Mormon Church Would No

By Jim Malone
Washington
06 December 2007

Republican presidential contender Mitt¹ Romney has tried to assure voters the Mormon Church would not influence his decisions should he win the White House next year.  Romney spoke² on faith and politics at the George H. W. Bush presidential library in Texas.  More on the speech now from VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone in Washington.  

Romney spoke at a time when opinion polls continue to show some public reservations about a Mormon becoming president.

"I do not define my candidacy by my religion," he said.  "A person should not be elected because of his faith, nor should he be rejected of his faith."

Romney also promised that if elected next year, he would put the interests of the country ahead of his church.

"If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest," he said.  "A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."

There are about 13 million Mormons worldwide, with about half that number living in the United States.

Mormons generally accept the teachings in the Christian³ Bible, but also follow beliefs laid out in their own holy text, the Book of Mormon.

Some Christians⁴ consider Mormonism a cult⁵, and public opinion polls during the past year suggest somewhere between a quarter and a third of voters would have reservations about supporting a Mormon candidate for president.

Some political analysts⁶ have compared Romney's attempt to explain his religious views with that of another presidential candidate in another time.

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,"  John Kennedy, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee⁷, said, during a speech to a group of Protestant ministers in Texas during the 1960 campaign.

Mr. Kennedy sought to allay⁸ fears that the Roman Catholic Church would have undue⁹ influence if he won the presidency¹⁰.

"I am not the Catholic candidate for president.  I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic.  I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me," he said.

Mr. Kennedy won a narrow victory over Richard Nixon in 1960, and many analysts believe his assurances on religion helped his cause.

At the moment, Romney is competing for the votes of Evangelical Christians who tend to support Republican candidates in the party caucuses¹² and primaries.

Romney is looking to shore up his standing¹³ among religious conservatives in the wake of a surging Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and one-time Baptist minister who has vaulted¹⁴ into a lead in the polls in the early contest state of Iowa.

Iowa begins the process of selecting the major party presidential nominees¹⁵ with its caucus¹¹ voting on January 3.

Huckabee has emphasized his religious background.  Huckabee was asked on ABC's This Week program if he was trying to draw a contrast with Romney's Mormon upbringing.

"I have spent enough time trying to be the Christian I need to be, rather than tell a Mormon how he needs to behave," he quipped.  "So I am not going to get into that argument, because my goal in life is not to evaluate what is wrong with your faith or somebody else's, but is to be able to live mine so that I remember that the greatest commandment is love my neighbor as myself."

Romney is running a close second to Huckabee in the latest Iowa polls.  But Romney leads the Republican field in New Hampshire, which holds its primary five days after the Iowa caucuses on January 8. 

1 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。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

6 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。

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 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

9 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 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。

12 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

15 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网