VOA常速英语2008年-Clinton Wins Crucial Pennsylvania Primary

By Paula Wolfson
Pittsburgh
23 April 2008

Senator Hillary Clinton has won the Pennsylvania primary election, keeping her campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹ alive. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania VOA's Paula Wolfson reports that, despite the victory, she still trails Senator Barack Obama in the total number of delegates committed to endorse² her candidacy at the party convention in August.

It was a healthy margin³ of victory for the Senator from New York. And, it helped breathe new life into her campaign.

She beat Barack Obama in Pennsylvania by a 10-point margin - 55 percent to 45 - enough to mute calls to quit the race and enable her to stay on to fight another day.

After a tough and often nasty campaign, a jubilant Hillary Clinton stood among supporters, covered with confetti and relishing⁴ the win.

"It is a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania!" Clinton said.

It was a moment of joy for a candidate short on both delegates and campaign funds.

In her victory speech, she spoke⁵ of the challenge ahead and took the unusual step of issuing an election night appeal for contributions.

"We can only keep winning if we can keep competing with an opponent who outspends us so massively," she said. "So I hope you will go to HillaryClinton.com and show your support tonight because the future of this campaign is in your hands."

The Clinton campaign claims that, within an hour after that speech, her campaign raised more than a million dollars.

Senator Clinton appeared in Philadelphia, which ironically was a campaign stronghold for the Obama campaign. He fared well with young and highly educated voters. She relied for support on working class communities, women and the elderly.

Senator Obama congratulated her on her victory, while emphasizing he remains⁶ the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. He noted⁷ that at the start of the Pennsylvania primary campaign, Hillary Clinton had a roughly 20 point lead in voter preference polls.

"There were a lot of folks who didn't think we could make this a race when it started," Obama said. "They thought we were going to be blown out. But we worked hard, we traveled across the state to big cities and small towns, to factories and VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Halls. And now, six weeks later, we have closed the gap."

By the time the polls closed in Pennsylvania, Senator Obama had moved on to Indiana which, along with North Carolina, holds the next round of primaries.

He spoke in a packed arena⁸ before cheering young supporters who emphatically endorsed⁹ his call for change.

"We are not here to talk about change for change's sake, but because our families and our communities and our country desperately¹⁰ need it," he said. "We are here because we can't afford to keep doing what we have been doing for the last four years."

Obama is already blanketing North Carolina and Indiana with campaign ads, spending twice as much as Clinton. Of the states still to hold primaries, North Carolina is the biggest prize and currently, Obama is in the lead.

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 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

3 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。

4 relishing   

v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• He ate quietly, relishing his meal. 他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, an iron rampart," he repeated, relishing his phrase. 是的，就是铜墙铁壁，"他很欣赏自己用的这个字眼，又重复了一遍。 来自飘（部分）

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

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 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。