VOA常速英语2008年-US Presidential Contenders Campaign Ahead of Sa

By Cindy Saine
Washington
08 February 2008

Republican Senator John McCain is campaigning in Virginia today, after receiving a big boost Thursday when his main rival for the presidential nomination², former Governor Mitt³ Romney suspended his campaign. On the Democratic side, the race remains⁴ extremely close between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both are campaigning hard ahead of several nominating contests Saturday and Sunday. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

Arizona Senator John McCain congratulated Former Massachusetts Governor Romney for running a good campaign, and reached out to Romney's supporters.

"You did a fine job, and you are welcome to join my campaign," he said.

Romney's departure appears to have all but sealed the nomination for McCain, who must now try to win over conservative critics within his own party. But former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is still in the race. He told reporters not to count him out yet.

"I still believe this thing is a long way from being settled, so now the field is down to two my chances have substantially improved," he said.

Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor⁵, is campaigning in Kansas today, ahead of Republican caucuses⁶ there on Saturday.

McCain has already won 707 of the more than 1,000 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination. Huckabee has 195 and Texas Congressman⁷ Ron Paul, who is also still in the race, has 14.

Huckabee said he realizes it is virtually impossible for him to catch up, but he says he is "looking forward to doing the impossible."

Senators Clinton and Obama are locked in a fierce state-by-state battle for delegates, after Super Tuesday's primaries and caucuses left them virtually even. Both candidates are holding rallies in the western state of Washington today, ahead of contests there and in Louisiana, Nebraska and the Virgin¹ Islands Saturday, and in Maine on Sunday.

Both Democrats⁸ say they are the best candidate to take on Senator McCain in the general election in November. Clinton spoke⁹ to supporters in Virginia Thursday.

"Who would be our best candidate to stand on the stage with Senator McCain to talk about national security, the economy and all the other important issues? I am offering a lifetime of experience, but more than that, I am offering my heart," she said.

Clinton and Obama are also looking ahead to contests next Tuesday in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 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。

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

6 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

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

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 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。