VOA常速英语2008年-Pennsylvania Voters to Cast Key Votes in Race f

By Paula Wolfson
Pittsburgh
20 April 2008

All eyes in the U.S. presidential election campaign are on Pennsylvania, where voters will cast ballots¹ Tuesday in the race for the Democratic Party nomination². VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from southwestern Pennsylvania that Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are campaigning in the state almost non-stop.

Turn on just about any radio or television anywhere in Pennsylvania and this is what you are likely to hear:

Both Obama and Clinton are saturating³ the state with campaign ads. Governor Edward Rendell - a former mayor of Philadelphia - says he has never seen anything like it.

Rendell, a top Clinton supporter, appeared on the CBS network news program Face the Nation. He says Obama is outspending Clinton in Pennsylvania by a margin⁴ of more than three to one.

"I have always been a good money raiser and I have put a lot of money on TV in the closing weeks of my campaign," said Governor Rendell. "But I never exceeded $1.2 or $1.3 [million]. The Obama campaign: $2.9 million. You cannot go anywhere in the Philadelphia region, you cannot listen to TV for 10 minutes without seeing an ad!"

The ad campaign has helped Obama cut Clinton's lead in the state from double digits⁵ to about five or six percent. Senator Robert Casey - considered the most popular Democratic Party office holder⁶ in the state and an Obama backer - says he will not predict what will happen when voters go to the polls on Tuesday.

He also appeared on Face the Nation.

"I think it is going to be an interesting night on the 22nd," said Senator Casey. "I do not think anyone knows where it will end. But I do think that from Senator Obama's perspective that he has made tremendous progress in the last six or seven weeks."

Both Rendell and Casey have put their prestige on the line in this election. Casey has been traveling across the state with Obama in the final days of the primary campaign, traveling by train from one town in eastern Pennsylvania to another.

At all stops, Obama has been focusing on his message of change.

"The choice you have right now in this Pennsylvania primary is whether to vote your hopes or your fears, whether you decide to not accept what the cynics tell you you have to settle for, but instead you decide to reach for what is possible," said Barack Obama.

Pennsylvania has the second oldest population in the nation, right behind Florida. And while the Obama campaign's focus on change has resonated with young voters, it has fallen flat with many of their grandparents.

Seniors remain a strong voting bloc⁷ in the state, and they are more attracted to experience and stability. At her campaign stops in the Pittsburgh area, Clinton is telling voters that they have to fill the most important job in the country, and experience counts.

"Who would you hire to restore our reputation and leadership in the world," asked Hillary Clinton. "And who would you hire to end the war in Iraq and win the war in Afghanistan?"

Pennsylvania voters originally thought their primary might be an afterthought in the campaign. It is one of the last of the big populous⁸ states to vote in the selection process, coming months after the February primaries that, at one point, were expected to decide the Democratic nominee⁹.

Now Pennsylvanians find they are at the center of a protracted¹⁰ fight for the party nomination. And there are signs this state will also be a big battle ground months from now in the general election campaign. Not only are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton running ads here, but so too is the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 saturating   

浸湿，浸透( saturate的现在分词 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物

参考例句：

• In the last days before the vote, both sides are saturating the airwaves. 选举前最后几天，竞选双方占用了所有的广播电台和电视台。
• A saturating rain was expected to end the drought. 只盼下场透雨，解除旱情。

4 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。

5 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

9 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。

10 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》