VOA常速英语2008年-Nader Enters US Presidential Race

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
24 February 2008

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he is launching a campaign for president of the United States. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports, Nader cites growing discontent in the country with both Republicans and Democrats¹.

Ralph Nader made it official during an appearance on national television.

"I have decided² to run for president," said Nader.

Nader told NBC's Meet the Press that he is entering the race because neither one of the major political parties is acting³ in the best interest of the American people.

This is his third run for the presidency⁴. In 2000, Nader - as the candidate of the Green Party - won just less than three percent of the national vote. Many Democrats still blame him for Al Gore⁵'s loss that year, saying he siphoned off just enough liberal votes to cost Gore a very close election.

Nader said he will not be deterred⁶.

"The political bigotry⁷ that is involved here is that we should not enter the electoral arena⁸ - all of us who think the country needs an infusion⁹ of freedom, democracy, choice, dissent," he said.

In 2004, Nader ran as an independent and his support slipped. But Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said the Democrats still have reason to be concerned about a Nader candidacy.

"Well, I think it would always pull votes away from the Democrats, not the Republicans," said Huckabee. "So actually, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race and hope that a few more will join in."

During an appearance on CNN's Late Edition, Huckabee was asked if there might be another third-party candidate on the right of the political spectrum¹⁰. He said that is not likely to happen, adding he has no intention of doing so if frontrunner John McCain becomes the Republican Party nominee¹¹.

"I think it is a suicide mission," he said. "Third-party candidates are not going to win the election. At best, they are going to take away from one of the major parties and I just do not see that happening within the conservative wing at all."

Meanwhile, top Democrats are downplaying the impact a Nader campaign might have on their prospects¹² of taking back the White House.

Appearing on the Fox News Sunday television program, New Jersey¹³ Governor Jon Corzine said he is more intrigued¹⁴ by the possibility of an independent campaign by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"I think that would have a major impact on the outcome of the race, and I think it is unpredictable which side would hurt the most on that," said Corzine. "That is a question that is much more relevant, I think to the end game of who the next president of the United States is."

Bloomberg, who was elected mayor as a Republican, recently dropped his party affiliation¹⁵. And there has been speculation¹⁶ that he might tap his personal fortune to one day launch a presidential campaign targeting moderate and independent voters.

1 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》

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 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 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。

5 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

6 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

7 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

8 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

9 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

10 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

11 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。

12 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

13 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。

14 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

15 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

16 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。