VOA常速英语2008年-Pennsylvania Votes Tuesday in Close Democratic

By Jim Fry
Washington
18 April 2008
 

Pennsylvania, with more than 12 million residents, is next to vote on which candidate the Democratic Party should nominate for U.S. president. With its combination of rural communities, small cities and large metropolitan² areas, the state is large in size and its population is diverse. Senator Barack Obama holds a slight lead in the overall national race for the party's nomination³.  Most opinion polls show Senator Hillary Clinton with a dwindling⁴ lead among Pennsylvania's likely primary election voters. VOA's Jim Fry takes a closer look in advance of Tuesday's primary election.

People who live in the rolling Pennsylvania hills say it is some of the nation's richest farmland.  The inner city neighborhoods are among the country's poorest.

The republic was founded here, and the state is steeped in history, as a small city mayor, J. Richard Gray, notes. "Right now we are standing⁵ very close to the grave of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  We take our politics seriously here," he said.

Pennsylvania is the next stop in the historic battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination between an African American, Barack Obama; and a woman, Hillary Clinton.

The eastern state of Pennsylvania is large and diverse with two major cities. The biggest is Philadelphia, the nation's fifth largest. 

On Philadelphia's south side, the Melrose Dinner straddles the border between two very different wards, as the city's political districts are called. 

The 26th ward⁶ is an Italian American enclave.  The 48th ward has become predominantly African American.

Inside, short order cooks fry up breakfast for a lunch crowd that looks like the neighborhood. Opinions, one ward leader says, often fall along racial lines - not that Bob Durbanis would admit to any racial tinge⁷ in his antipathy⁸ toward Barack Obama. "I don't care that he's black," says Durbanis, who is white.  "He's an outgoing person, you know.  He's not a roughneck, I'll say that for him.  But I don't think that he's my president.”

Harvey Roberson carefully excludes race as his motive⁹ for making his choice. “I have a good feeling and it's not because of race or anything like that, because I think the person will do a good job.  And I like Senator Obama," Robertson said.

The campaign came to the Sheet Metal Workers Hall, where, inside, the city's ward leaders gathered.

Hillary Clinton proclaimed herself proud of this campaign, saying "it's only because of all the people who came before in the civil rights movement and the women's movement." 

Obama brought his mantra of change though, he said, not blind optimism: "You've got to have hope to believe that change can happen.”

Volunteers for Obama walk the north side, which residents describe as a low income neighborhood. Taniek Mitchum says she wants better health care, echoing many other Pennsylvania Democrats¹⁰ who point to the inadequate¹¹ care for the nation's 45 million uninsured.

The massive Bethlehem Steel plant, abandoned and decrepit¹², serves as a symbol of another issue - jobs.

N and N Drilling Supply near Scranton does a brisk international business making environmental drills. Employee Mike Ghilardy says the work here is good, although he has held eight different jobs in the past four years.  And he says he worries, adding, "Oh, yes, before I retire I'll probably end up changing jobs at least two, three times."

State Representative Frank Andrews Shimkus recalls that Hillary Clinton's grandfather worked in a factory in Scranton, then a mining and manufacturing town. "She can relate to us,” Shimkus said. “She's got to take care of the whole country, but, perhaps, the thing that touches her heart are the things that she knows, [like] the senior citizens here." 

The area's state senator, Robert Mellow¹³, believes Obama is better able to act. “You do not address change by recycling the same people who have been responsible for the position this country is in today,"  he says.

The small city of Lancaster, in southern Pennsylvania is circled by suburbs and further out by farms. Folks say the conservatives who live here are not inclined toward change.

Yet the city's mayor, J. Richard Gray, an Obama supporter, says he senses something. "We've had thousands of people - and at last count they weren't yet able to calculate the number of people - who have changed their registration¹⁴ from Republican to Democrat¹, primarily to vote for Barack Obama,” Gray said.

Yet in these cozy¹⁵ towns and big cities, other Democrats say they are similarly excited at the prospect¹⁶ of nominating a woman. 

Pennsylvania votes on Tuesday, 22 April.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 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。

4 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 tinge   

vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息

参考例句：

• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
• There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.她声音中流露出一丝忧伤。

8 antipathy   

n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物

参考例句：

• I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。
• Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

9 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

10 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》

11 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

12 decrepit   

adj.衰老的，破旧的

参考例句：

• The film had been shot in a decrepit old police station.该影片是在一所破旧不堪的警察局里拍摄的。
• A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.一个衰弱的老人坐在公园的长凳上。

13 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

14 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

15 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。