VOA常速英语2008年-Clinton Wins Ohio, Texas; McCain Clinches Repub

By Cindy Saine
Washington
05 March 2008

Senator Hillary Clinton scored crucial primary wins Tuesday in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, reviving her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination¹. But her opponent, Senator Barack Obama, has more pledged delegates and says he still expects to be the nominee². Republican Senator John McCain clinched³ his party's nomination. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

As the dust settles from Tuesday's Democratic primaries, the party faces the reality of a long and likely contentious⁴ battle for its presidential nomination. Senator Hillary Clinton's wins extend the race until Pennsylvania's primary in late April and possibly all the way to the nominating convention in late August.

Clinton ended her losing streak⁵ of 12 straight defeats in caucuses⁷ and primaries to Senator Barack Obama, and told voters Tuesday in Ohio their state is known for picking presidential winners.

"This nation is coming back and so is this campaign," she said.

Senator Obama had hoped to deliver Senator Clinton a knock-out blow by winning Ohio and Texas, but he came away with only a win in Vermont.

Texas has both a primary and a caucus⁶. Clinton narrowly won the primary, but caucus results are still being counted. They will determine the number of delegates each candidate wins.

Obama has a lead of about 90 pledged delegates. He told told the CBS News Early Show that he has won more states, more of the popular vote and more delegates.

"Senator Clinton has tried to cherry pick which states she thinks are important," he said. " But what we know is at the end of the day, we feel confident that we are going to have a strong delegate lead and we will have a strong claim on the nomination."

 

Asked on the same morning television show whether she and Obama might join forces as the presidential and vice⁸ presidential candidates on the same ticket in November, Clinton replied: "Of course we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket."

The next nominating contests are in Wyoming this Saturday and in Mississippi on Tuesday.

It was a night of quiet triumph for Republican Senator John McCain, whose campaign had been prematurely⁹ declared "finished" months ago. Speaking in Texas, McCain thanked his supporters.

"Thank you Texas, Ohio, Vermont, and Rhode Island," he said.

His main remaining rival, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, bowed out of the race, pledging support for McCain.

The senator from Arizona, considered a maverick¹⁰ by some conservative Republicans, will shortly receive a formal endorsement¹¹ from President Bush at the White House.

McCain told his supporters Tuesday the contest for the White House in November has now begun, and that he will present himself as the candidate best able to keep America safe from terror attacks.

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 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。

3 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

4 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

6 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。

7 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

8 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。

9 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

10 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

11 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。