VOA标准英语2008年-Obama Wins Oregon Primary, Declares Nomination

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
21 May 2008

Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary election, Tuesday, by a margin¹ of more than two to one, but Barack Obama won the race in Oregon and passed a milestone² in the Democratic Party's presidential contest. Mike O'Sullivan reports Clinton has vowed⁴ to stay in the race, while Obama is looking ahead to the presidential election in November.

Hillary Clinton won the Kentucky primary by 35 percentage points. According to exit polls, she did well among women and white voters.

Barack Obama scored well among educated voters to win the primary in the more liberal West Coast state of Oregon.

The primaries and caucuses⁵ determine the delegate count to the party's nominating convention, and Senator Obama celebrated⁶ another victory Tuesday as he passed the halfway⁷ point in committed delegates for the Democratic Party's August convention. Obama spoke⁸ in Iowa, where he won his first contest on a cold January night.

"And, tonight Iowa, in the fullness of Spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination⁹ for president of the United States of America," he said.

Speaking to her supporters, Clinton celebrated her lopsided win in Kentucky and promised that she will stay in the race.

She said "This continues to be a tough fight, and I have fought it the only way I know how, with determination, by never giving up and never giving in."

Clinton is pegging¹⁰ her hopes on disqualified delegates from Florida and Michigan, two states not counted in the total because they broke party rules by holding their primaries early. She hopes to have their votes counted and their convention delegates seated.

She promises to stay in the race through upcoming contests in Puerto Rico June 1, and Montana and South Dakota June 3.

"I'm going on now to campaign in Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico, and I'm going to keep standing¹¹ up for the voters of Florida and Michigan," she said.

Obama turned his attention beyond the Democratic primaries to urge unity¹² against expected Republican candidate John McCain. He had words of praise for his fellow Democrat³, Senator Clinton.

"We've had our disagreements during this campaign. But we all admire her courage and her commitment and her perseverance¹³. And, no matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and your daughters will come of age and for that we are grateful to her," he said.

Both Clinton and Obama are wooing several hundred of the so-called super-delegates -- party officials and officeholders -- who remain uncommitted and have the power to support either candidate.

Obama is the leader in another important race, for campaign contributions. He reported donations of $31 million in April alone.

1 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。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 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。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 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

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

8 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。

9 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。

10 pegging   

n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• To write a novel,one must keep pegging away at it consistently. 要写小说，必须不断辛勤劳动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was pegging the clothes out on the line to dry. 她正在把衣服夹在晒衣绳上晾干。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。