2007年VOA标准英语-Battle for Republican Party US Presidential Nom

By Jim Malone
Washington
05 March 2007

For the first time since the presidential election of 2000, Republicans are engaged in a heated competition to see who will emerge as the party's presidential nominee¹ in 2008. So far, the race has taken some surprising turns, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.

 
Republican presidential hopeful, Rudy Giuliani  speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC, 2 March 2007
A recent poll showed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani the top choice among Republican presidential contenders. Giuliani led Arizona Senator John McCain by a margin² of 44 to 21 percent, even though McCain had long been considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination³ in 2008.

Many political commentators⁴ have argued that Giuliani will have trouble winning the Republican race because conservative voters dislike his support for abortion⁵ rights, gay rights and gun control measures.

But, so far, Giuliani is defying expectations, and many conservatives seem to like the leadership qualities he demonstrated in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, when he emerged as a national figure.

Giuliani recently spoke⁶ to a large group of is to figure out who do you believe the most, and what do you think are the most important things for this country at a particular time. We do believe in many of the same things."

 
Senator John McCain speaks during a town hall meeting  in South Carolina (19 Feb 2007)
Giuliani's early rise in the polls has come at the expense of Senator McCain. Some conservatives are also wary⁷ of McCain for his support of reform efforts in the areas of campaign finance and immigration, and McCain was one of the few Republican presidential contenders who did not address the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"Over the last several months, McCain has lost ground, Giuliani has gained ground," said Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "I do not think that means that Giuliani will be the nominee, but it does suggest that a lot of Republicans still have doubts about John McCain."

McCain is working to recapture the political momentum⁸ he sparked when he ran a close race against then Texas Governor George Bush in the 2000 Republican primaries.

Mr. Bush eventually overtook McCain that year and went on to win the presidency⁹.

But McCain is now one of the president's biggest supporters on the war in Iraq, and he acknowledges his political fate in 2008 may be tied to whether the U.S. can ultimately prevail in what has become an unpopular war domestically.

"I believe that this new general and this strategy, which is long overdue¹⁰, can succeed," he said. "And, we will know at least some indicators¹¹ in the early months [of the deployment], but we may not know some others for quite a period of time."

Political analysts¹² say McCain's support for the new strategy is a gamble, given the polls that suggest most Americans disapprove¹³ of the policy.

Tom DeFrank is Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a regular guest on VOA's Issues in the News program.

"It [recent poll] showed that one third of the country [of those polled], 33 percent, are less likely to vote for McCain because of his posture¹⁴ of support for the Iraq war," he said. "And that, I think, has really hurt McCain, and, I think, has stunned¹⁵ him and his advisers¹⁶."

Other Republican contenders are working hard to broaden the nomination battle beyond McCain and Giuliani.

 
Republican Mitt¹⁷ Romney addresses the Detroit Economic Club in Detroit, 7 Feb 2007
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won a test vote at the conservative conference in Washington, finishing ahead of Giuliani, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and McCain.

"Now is the time, this is the place, for us to lead a great coalition¹⁸ of strength for our families, for our future, for America," he said. "God Bless the United States of America!"

Romney is one of several candidates hoping to sharpen their appeal to conservative voters, who make up the most significant bloc¹⁹ of support within the Republican Party.

 
Mike Huckabee addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC, 2 March 2007
Another Republican contender, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, sees a void in the Republican field in that no single candidate has a lock on the support of conservative voters.

"The theme might be, 'Dude, where is my candidate?' Well, I would like to think that maybe he is standing²⁰ in front of you," he said.

Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway says the wide-open battle for conservative support will help the Republican Party in the 2008 election.

"And as a conservative, I would like to see a bloody²¹, bruising²², competitive, let it all hang out primary where people are forced to come to forums²³ like this and look you in the eye and tell you who they are and what they think and where they are going to lead this great nation," she said.

 
Newt Gingrich speaks at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference, 3 March  2007 
The lack of a unifying²⁴ conservative candidate in the Republican field could provide an opening for others to get into the race, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Gingrich got a positive reception at the conservative conference, and says he will decide by September whether to enter the nomination battle.

"All three [top] Republicans have significant weaknesses," said Stuart Rothenberg, who publishes an independent political newsletter in Washington. "Even the Democratic frontrunners have weaknesses. So, although there are frontrunners and there are top tiers [of candidates], I think that many people think that, particularly on the Republican side, there is an opportunity for maybe somebody else to cut through."

Analysts also say the 2008 presidential race has intensified²⁵ much earlier than most people expected. The first caucus²⁶ and primary elections are still 10 months away.

1 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。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 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。

4 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 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。

10 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

11 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

12 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。

13 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

14 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

15 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

16 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

17 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。

18 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

19 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

20 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。

21 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

22 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

23 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

24 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

25 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 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。