VOA常速英语2008年-Obama, McCain Sweep Potomac Primaries

By Cindy Saine
Washington
13 February 2008
 

Senator Barack Obama has scored three decisive primary victories, Tuesday over Senator Hillary Clinton, winning big in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination¹. On the Republican side, Senator John McCain has also won all three races, though he faced a stronger than expected challenge from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabe in Virginia. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

It was a night of triumph for Senator Barack Obama, as he swept the races known as the "Potomac Primary" for the river that flows through the nation's capital. Obama headed to the midwest for his victory rally, speaking to a crowd of about 17,000 people at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

"We won the state of Maryland, we won the Commonwealth² of Virginia, and though we won in Washington, D.C., this movement won't stop until there's change in Washington, D.C. And tonight we're on our way," said Barack Obama.

The three victories came after a string of wins Saturday and Sunday for Obama, putting the 46-year-old African-American in the lead with the largest number of delegates for the first time. But the race is still close. Obama and Clinton each have over 1,000 of the more than 2,000 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Senator Clinton made clear she is already looking ahead to the March 4 primaries three weeks from now, in the big and delegate rich states of Texas and Ohio, where she currently has a lead in opinion polls.

She spoke³ to her supporters in El Paso, Texas.

"Every single one of us knows that tomorrow can be better than today, but it doesn't happen just by wishing it, or hoping for it. It happens by working really, really hard," said Hillary Clinton. "To make it a reality to give everybody a better chance."

Republican John McCain won easily in Maryland and Washington, D.C., but by a lesser⁴ margin⁵ in Virginia, where evangelical Christians⁶ turned out in strong numbers for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Speaking to his supporters in Alexandria, Virginia, McCain also took an indirect shot at Obama, who has become famous for his speeches about hope and change.

"To encourge a country with only rhetoric⁷, rather than sound and proven ideas, the trust and the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope, it's a platitude," said John McCain.

With his three wins Tuesday, McCain is edging closer to the more than one thousand delegates needed to secure the Republican Party's nomination. But former Governor Mike Huckabee, speaking in his home state of Arkansas, said he is still in the race.

"There are these calls to say let's just call it off," said Mike Huckabee. "Well, that's a disservice to the people in Texas and Ohio and Pennsylvania and North Carolina and Nebraska and other states and territories who have yet to have that opportunity to vote."

The focus now shifts to Wisconsin, where both parties will hold a primary next Tuesday, and to Hawaii, where there will be a Democratic caucus⁸ the same day.

1 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。

2 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

3 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。

4 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

5 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。

6 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。

7 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

8 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。