VOA标准英语2008年-Clinton Looking for Big Win in West Virginia Pr

By Jim Malone
Washington
13 May 2008

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton is looking for a decisive win in Tuesday's West Virginia primary to keep alive her fleeting¹ hopes of winning the White House this year. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

Hillary Clinton has a big lead in West Virginia over rival Barack Obama, but experts say even a decisive Clinton victory there will do little to blunt Obama's momentum² for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination³.

Clinton remained undaunted by her increasingly long-shot odds⁴ of winning the nomination as she rallied supporters on the eve of the primary.

"This is going to be a crucial turning point," Clinton said.

Clinton's campaign spokesman, Howard Wolfson, told NBC television that Clinton intends to remain in the race through the end of the primary season on June 3.

"And I think superdelegates who, as you say, have been moving towards Barack Obama in the last week are going to wake up tomorrow and say, 'you know, I am a little concerned about the fact that our presumptive nominee⁵ cannot win West Virginia'," said Wolfson.

The so-called superdelegates are Democratic Party activists⁶ and elected officeholders, including members of Congress, governors and big-city mayors, who can vote for either candidate at the national nominating convention.

Obama continues to gain uncommitted superdelegates, including several more this week and now leads Clinton in that category even though she once had a big lead. Obama also holds a lead in the overall delegate count.

Superdelegates will provide the winning margin⁷ for the eventual⁸ Democratic nominee since neither Obama nor Clinton will win enough delegates outright⁹ by early June to claim the nomination.

Obama spent little time campaigning in West Virginia and appears to be shifting his focus away from Clinton to the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.

"She is a capable, smart, hard working, intelligent candidate," Obama said. "She has served this country well and whatever the differences between myself and her, they are nothing compared to the differences we have with John McCain."

Senator McCain is also positioning himself for the general election campaign later this year by putting distance between himself and President Bush on the issue of global climate change.

McCain told an audience in Oregon that he would break with the Bush administration and would push for mandatory¹⁰ limits on greenhouse gas emissions¹¹ if elected in November.

"I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges," said McCain.

Some Democrats¹² and political experts have voiced concern that the long and bitter Democratic nomination battle between Obama and Clinton could hurt the party's chances in the November election.

But two new public opinion polls found that clear majorities of those surveyed said Clinton should stay in the race for the time being.

1 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

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 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

5 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。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 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》