VOA标准英语2012--Mitt Romney Emerges as Presumed Republican Presidential Nominee

Mitt¹ Romney Emerges as Presumed Republican Presidential Nominee²

Rick Santorum’s surprise announcement, “...We will suspend our campaign effective today...” provoked a joyful³ response from Mitt Romney.

“I kind of like today, this was a good day,” Romney said.

Santorum's departure came two weeks before primary voting in his home state of Pennsylvania, a contest political analyst⁴ Thomas Mann says Santorum was likely to lose.

“Realizing he was going to get trounced [defeated] for the second time in his own state - last time when he was defeated for reelection to the Senate - he decided⁵ it is best to get out before making more enemies in the Republican Party,” Mann said.

Social conservatives propelled Santorum to victory in 10 states, prolonging a bruising⁶ and costly⁷ Republican primary fight. For months, Santorum blasted former Massachusetts Governor Romney as a politically rudderless moderate.

“He is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama,” Santorum said.

And, for months, Romney insisted he is a true conservative, staking out right-wing positions that could prove a liability in the general election. 

Now, with his nomination⁸ all but assured, Romney can focus attention and resources on President Barack Obama, who has been working to energize⁹ Democratic voters and appeal to independents.

“No matter where you come from, what you look like, what your last name is - black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight [heterosexual], disabled or not, it does not matter. You have a shot at the American Dream. That is the vision we share,” Obama said.

Already, Romney is facing questions about his eventual¹⁰ vice¹¹ presidential pick and running mate.

“I am here to announce today that I do not even have a list [of vice presidential picks],” Romney said.

Romney’s emergence¹² in April as the all-but-confirmed nominee gives him time to heal divisions within the Republican Party and craft a message that will appeal to broader segments of the American electorate¹³. Public-opinion pollster Peter Brown says Romney has work to do to erase¹⁴ the after-effects of a vicious nomination battle.

“The Republican candidates for president have been kicking each other for several months, and that kind of negative tone rubs off [is damaging],” Brown said.

There was no negativity from Romney after the Santorum announcement.

“We are going to work together to make sure we take back the White House, the Senate, and we keep the House [of Representatives]. We are going to get the job done,” Romney said. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

4 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。

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 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 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。

9 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

10 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。

11 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。

12 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

13 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

14 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。