voa标准英语2008年-Candidates Visit Key States in Final Sprint

American voters head to the polls on Tuesday to elect their next president after the longest and most expensive campaign in U.S. history. As VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made last-minute appeals in three key states on Monday, while Republican John McCain took his message across the country.
　

Senator Barack Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina, 03 Nov 2008

In a final sprint¹, Illinois Senator Barack Obama started the day in the key swing state of Florida.

"[It has been] 21 months of a campaign that's taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California," said Barack Obama. "We are one day away from changing the United States of America."

Obama is leading in national public opinion surveys by an average of seven points. But the race could be decided² in a handful of highly contested states. They include North Carolina and Virginia, where Obama also held rallies on Monday.

U.S. presidents are selected by a state-by-state count of electoral votes, not by the national vote count.

The Republican candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, visited key seven states on the last day of campaigning. He also started the day in Florida, which has 27 electoral votes of the 270 needed to win the presidency³.
　

Senator John McCain in Roswell, New Mexico, 03 Nov 2008

McCain told an early morning audience he can win the election.

"With this kind of enthusiasm and this kind of intensity⁴, we will win Florida and we will win this race tomorrow," said John McCain.

McCain also stopped in Pennsylvania, a key industrial state that surveys show is leaning toward Obama. He shored up his support in Republican-leaning Tennessee, then visited Indiana, where the race is tight, before heading to the southwestern states of New Mexico and Nevada, and his home state of Arizona.

The vice⁵ presidential candidates were also working hard to get out the vote. McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, had stops in five states, including Iowa.

"Iowa, do we have your commitment and can we count on you tomorrow," asked Sarah Palin.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, traveled to Missouri, which is known as a bellwether⁶ state because it has backed the winning candidate in every presidential race for the past half century.

"We need to get out and elect Barack Obama president of the United States tomorrow," said Joe Biden.

The Obama campaign released some sad news on Monday, announcing that the candidate's 86 year old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, had died in Hawaii after a battle with cancer. In a written statement, Obama described her as "the cornerstone" of his family.

Regardless of the outcome, Tuesday's election will be historic. Senator Obama, if elected, would become the nation's first African-American president. Senator McCain, who is 72, would be the nation's oldest first-term president if he is elected, and his running mate, Sarah Palin, would become the first woman vice president.

The presidential campaign has been the longest in U.S. history. It has also set new records for political fundraising. The two candidates together have raised about $1 billion, with Obama far outpacing his rival, raising $150 million in contributions in September alone.

1 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

2 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。

3 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。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 bellwether   

n.系铃的公羊，前导，领导者，群众的首领

参考例句：

• University campuses are often the bellwether of change.大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
• For decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy.几十年来，这家公司一直是英国经济的晴雨表。