VOA标准英语2008年-Palin Faces Challenges On Road To Election

Sarah Palin, the Republican vice¹ presidential candidate, faces some big challenges in coming weeks as she campaigns with Senator John McCain before the November presidential election. Palin electrified² delegates at the convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, in a speech describing herself as an independent outsider ready to work with McCain to change Washington politics. As VOA's Dan Robinson reports, it remains³ to be seen how many independent, moderate and female voters she can bring in for the Republican ticket.
　
Republican US vice presidential nominee⁴ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts to the crowd as she takes the stage of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, 03 Sep 2008

In her address to the Republican convention, Palin sought to link herself to McCain's reputation as a "maverick⁵, " and McCain'ssurprise choice of the little known Alaska governor as his running mate underscored that reputation. While McCain portrays⁶ himself as a reformer within the Republican Party, Palin's socially conservative family values, and personal biography have tremendous appeal for the conservative wing of the party, whose support McCain has been courting.

While Palin came across well to convention delegates, she will face intense scrutiny⁷ as the campaign heats up. Among other things, her performance in an October vice presidential debate against veteran U.S. Senator Joe Biden is expected to provide Americans with a clearer picture of her abilities, and whether McCain's bold selection was a wise one.

Among the constituents⁸ McCain hopes to win over are women voters, including some of Democrat⁹ Hillary Clinton's supporters, who were disappointed at her primary loss to Senator Barack Obama.

Some leading Republican women have come out strongly in defense¹⁰ of Palin, who, they say, has faced unfair scrutiny in the media over revelations about her unwed daughter's pregnancy¹¹ and an ethics¹² investigation¹³ involving her in Alaska, as well as questions about her executive experience as a first term governor.

Carly Fiorina, a former chief executive of Hewlett Packard, says demeaning headlines describing Palin as, among other things, a "cheerleader from the West," will backfire as American women of all political persuasions¹⁴ learn more about her. "This executive, who has made more executive decisions than Barack Obama has made in his life, also happens to be a woman, and that is thrilling to so many millions of American women," she said.

Former U.S. Treasurer¹⁵ Rosario Marin says Palin is well-equipped to reflect challenges facing American women attempting to balance career and family. Marin is angry with media coverage¹⁶ of Palin. "I believe that women are completely and absolutely outraged¹⁷. I am outraged, I am insulted, I am offended," he said.

Political analyst¹⁸ Stuart Rothenberg says conservatives have been energized¹⁹ by Palin's presence on the Republican ticket, but he believes most Americans have not yet made up their minds, even after what most agree was a superb convention performance:

"There is no clear decision yet on Sarah Palin and there won't be, even after her convention speech. It's going to take a few weeks of interviews, cross-examining by big-name journalists to see how she reacts, because we still don't know what is under the microscope, how she will perform, does she know enough about issues, does she know anything about foreign policy, national security issues, international questions. How will she respond to questions on the role of the government and size of the government. We just don't know enough about her," he said.

Political analysts²⁰ say McCain's choice of Palin has solidified²¹ the traditional conservative base for McCain, as well as injected a youthful element into his campaign. If he is victorious²² over Obama, McCain would be 72 years old when he is sworn in next January. Palin is 44.

Former House of Representatives Republican majority leader Tom DeLay says, before the Palin selection, he was having difficulty personally committing to vote for McCain because of differences with him on many key issues.

Delay says Palin has transformed the race. "Now, with Palin on the ticket, the base will be energized and the independents will be with McCain. It is a race now, but the McCain campaign cannot dismiss the fact that they limited themselves to public financing. Obama is going to out-spend them five to one, and Obama has got an incredible organization that McCain does not have. That is going to be the difference in the race, and they are going to have to work very, very hard to make up that difference," he said.

Delay predicts what he calls continued "trashing" of Palin in the media will awaken²³ what he describes as the giant in the Republican party, namely Republican women.

Jane Swift, a former Republican governor of the state of Massachusetts, predicts that American voters will come to understand more of what Sarah Palin brings to the Republican ticket, and the potential this holds for the country. "As they get to know the McCain-Palin ticket, I think, they will be as impressed as all of us are, with a record of achievement, and they will help us all to focus on the issues," he said.

It is too early to tell whether Palin will draw more women to McCain's camp, as Repubicans hope.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

6 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

8 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

12 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 persuasions   

n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰

参考例句：

• To obtain more advertisting it needed readers of all political persuasions. 为获得更多的广告，它需要迎合各种政治见解的读者。 来自辞典例句
• She lingered, and resisted my persuasions to departure a tiresome while. 她踌躇不去，我好说歹说地劝她走，她就是不听。 来自辞典例句

15 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

19 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

21 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

22 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

23 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。