VOA标准英语2008年-Obama On Brink of Winning US Democratic Party N

By Cindy Saine
Washington
03 June 2008

America's presidential primary season ends Tuesday after five months with contests in Montana and South Dakota. Hillary Clinton's campaign says she will not concede nomination¹ to Obama Tuesday evening. As we hear from VOA's Cindy Saine, the so-called "superdelegates" will likely determine whether Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama will be able to claim the nomination.
　

Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (l) and Sen. Barack Obama (file photo)

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are vying² for a total of 31 pledged delegates in Montana and South Dakota. Even if Obama wins both states as expected, that will not give him enough for an outright³ win of the Democratic nomination.

But the 46-year-old presidential hopeful is hoping to get the backing of more of the party elders and elected officials, the so-called "superdelegates." By most estimates, Obama needs the support of about 25 superdelegates out of the more than 150 that have still not announced their preference. All eyes are now on the superdelegates to see if a bloc⁴ of them comes out to endorse⁵ Obama, giving him the total number of delegates required to clinch⁶ the nomination.

Newsweek's senior Washington correspondent and columnist⁷, Howard Fineman, says Obama is on the brink⁸ of victory. "Well, the most likely scenario⁹ is that by the end of this week Barack Obama will have wrapped up the Democratic nomination. It has been a long contest, one of the longest on record, and he is not crossing the finish line with a huge burst of energy but he is crossing the finish line ahead," he said.

Obama is planning a major address in Saint Paul, Minnesota, shortly before the polls close later tonight. It is not yet clear whether he will be able to use the venue¹⁰ to declare himself the Democratic nominee¹¹.

Hillary Clinton, who trails Obama by more than 150 delegates, will be addressing supporters in her home state of New York. There have been conflicting reports from inside the Clinton campaign about what she plans to say, but the campaign is insisting that she does not intend to suspend her campaign or end her candidacy Tuesday night. Fineman says Clinton will need more time to throw her support behind Obama.

"I don't expect her to endorse him immediately. I think it is going to take her a while to come to terms with the fact that she came so close but didn't get it. Don't forget, a year ago at this time she was the prohibitive favorite. She was on her way to a coronation, not a campaign. And she came very, very close here at the end," he said.

Clinton has won large, lopsided victories in several of the last primaries, including one Sunday in Puerto Rico, but it appears too late to change the dynamics¹² of the race with Obama so far ahead in the delegate count.

On the Republican side, Arizona Senator John McCain has already been his party's presumptive nominee for months. He plans to try to steal a little of the spotlight¹³ from the Democrats¹⁴ Tuesday night by giving a speech on reform. Both parties will formally nominate their presidential choices at party conventions in late August and September.

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 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

7 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

8 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

11 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。

12 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

13 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

14 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》