VOA标准英语2012--After Iowa, How Far Can the Candidates Go?

After Iowa, How Far Can the Candidates Go?

There were three strong finishers in the Republican half of the Iowa presidential caucuses¹ Tuesday night.

A surprising and new top-tier emerged in Tuesday's caucuses in Iowa. There was the winner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt² Romney; the close runner-up, former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Congressman³ Ron Paul of Texas, who finished third.

Still, the Iowa caucuses are not known for their predictive value, but for their ability to narrow the field.

Michele Bachmann finished sixth and announced that she is suspending her campaign.

"And so last night, the people of Iowa spoke⁴ with a very clear voice and so I have decided⁵ to stand aside," she said.

Jennifer Lawless, a professor at American University in Washington, says Iowa also sent a signal to the victor.

"Mitt Romney won, but he still only has 25 percent of that vote. He will probably do a little better than that percentage in New Hampshire, but that's a part of, an artifact not only of him being from [the region] New England but also fewer candidates in the race. And so Iowa sent a clear message that he still has not really sealed the deal with the base," she said.

And it is not only the base that Romney has to win over. Even though he is widely viewed as the strongest contender in a battle against President Barack Obama, he is not embraced by his conservative Republican rivals.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who finished fourth in Iowa, views it this way.

"But let's be clear. One of the things which became obvious in the last few weeks in Iowa is that there will be a great debate in the Republican Party before we are prepared to have a great debate with Barack Obama," Gingrich said.

Gingrich is continuing in the race, but Lawless says his words suggest he is abandoning his goal of being his party's nominee⁶.

"Instead it seems that he's now going to be a single-minded seeker of destroying Mitt Romney, and he began that campaign last night," she said.

Socially conservative voters who have been split among Texas Governor Rick Perry, Bachmann and Gingrich might now rally around second-place finisher Rick Santorum. He surged in the polls only days ahead of the caucuses, thriving on evangelical support, but that top-tier status might be short-lived.

"He hasn't had the opportunity to fall yet, but he hasn't been vetted⁷. He hasn't been the target of negative ads, and Mitt Romney's venom⁸ hasn't been directed at him yet," Lawless said.

Romney is expected to do well in the New Hampshire primary January 10. Santorum is expected to do well later this month in conservative South Carolina's primary.

But what chance has Ron Paul in his third run for the presidency⁹?

Not much, says Lawless, who authored the book "Becoming a Candidate".

"It is virtually impossible to imagine a path to the presidency for Ron Paul," Lawless said.

While Paul has fervent¹⁰ supporters, his isolationist views and calls for a radically¹¹ smaller government do not have broad appeal among many Republicans. That leaves more room for the front-runner Mitt Romney and the other candidates.

1 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

2 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

7 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

8 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

11 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。