VOA常速英语2008年-In New York City, Strong Opinions on Clinton-Ob

By Carolyn Weaver¹
New York City
06 February 2008
 
Senator Hillary Clinton, as many expected, won her chosen home state of New York's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday. But she was tested by Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Media reports say exit polls show Obama did well among black voters in New York and in neighboring New Jersey² and among white voters next door in Connecticut.

Among the Republicans, with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani out of the race, Senator John McCain of Arizona won in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- beating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt³ Romney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. VOA's Carolyn Weaver talked with some voters in New York City about their choices, and has this report.

New Yorkers are overwhelmingly Democrats⁴, especially in the historically black neighborhood of Harlem. Like her husband, former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is a favorite here. Many black women voters in particular support her.

One voter we spoke⁵ with says she will be voting for Clinton. "I'm going to go for Hillary, all the way. [Reporter: Why Hillary all the way?] Because I know what she has accomplished⁶, and I trust her. If Mr. Obama was not a black man, this would be a clearcut [decision] for many people. So I want to pass that, I don't want to look at race. It's Hillary all the way."

But a surge of support for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois made the contest for New York's delegates to the nominating convention more competitive.

"I'm going definitely for Obama, he sounds like a good guy. He sounds like he's going to make a change in this world. And I'm going to definitely go for Obama, because he's a very good man," said another voter. 

Another Obama proponent said, "This election year, I only see one person running, and his name is Barack Obama. And Harlem's for Obama, Latinos for Obama, Latinos for Obama, Chinese for Obama -- everybody's for Obama."

In another part of New York, a mostly white, working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, you could find supporters of both genders⁷ for Hillary Clinton.

 "I think she has the best combination of experience, the pragmatic approach to politics, and supporting my policies," says a voter. "I liked Obama, but I think she's better."

"I like [Clinton] because she's a woman," a man says, "I like the woman," he adds,  "because I think she has a lot of experience. Obama is nice guy, I like, but he's too young."

An almost equal number of voters here supported Barack Obama.

A younger voter says, "My vote went to Barack Obama. And I feel good about that choice. It's such a historic vote. I'm so happy that we have both a woman and an African-American candidate, that in the end I'll ultimately -- the truth is, whoever gets the nomination⁸ -- I'll be happy to support."

Brooklyn is also heavily Democratic. Only one voter emerging from the polls said she might vote for the Republican candidate, if it's John McCain -- but only if Hillary Clinton does not get the Democratic nomination.

"Quite frankly⁹, in the general election I don't know who I'll vote for," she explained. "I might even vote for John McCain. I don't really believe in the Republican ideals, the party ideals, but I just like the man. So, we'll see what happens in November."

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 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。

4 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》

5 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。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 genders   

n.性某些语言的（阳性、阴性和中性，不同的性有不同的词尾等）( gender的名词复数 )；性别；某些语言的（名词、代词和形容词）性的区分

参考例句：

• There are three genders in German: masculine, feminine and neuter. 德语中有叁性：阳性、阴性和中性。 来自辞典例句
• Japan was fourth among the genders of foreign students. 日本在二十个留美学生输送地中列第四位。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。