VOA标准英语2012--Economy Important to Iowa Voters, Despite Healthy Farm Industry

Economy Important to Iowa Voters, Despite Healthy Farm Industry

Republican presidential candidates are spending millions of dollars in Iowa trying to win voters. The infusion¹ of campaign cash comes while the Midwestern state is also benefiting from several years of good crop growth. Because of its healthy farm industry, Iowa is suffering less from the slow economic growth and high unemployment seen nationwide. But there are still concerns on the campaign trail.

It’s been a good year for the Machine Shed in suburban² Des Moines, Iowa.

Presidential candidates use manager Alan Ruden’s farm-themed restaurant as a place to meet voters ahead of the Iowa presidential caucuses⁴ every four years.

“We get a lot of traffic from candidates and people asking about candidates. You have to come to the Machine Shed, and it’s well recognized as a place for a stop on their tour. The candidates know that,” Ruden said.

Texas Governor Rick Perry among them.

The sign above the entrance says “Farming is everyone’s bread and butter” and retired⁵ farmer Dean Kleckner says Iowa’s farms have had good years.

“The finances of Iowa is pretty good right now, mainly because agriculture is pretty good right now. And that ripples⁶ through the economy, whether you’re farming or not, you’re spending money because the economy is good,” Kleckner said.

The Des Moines visitors bureau says the 2008 presidential campaign brought about $100 million into Iowa. But there are fewer candidates this year, so even with strong spending by contenders such as Ron Paul and Mitt⁷ Romney, this year's figure is expected to be lower.

Even so, Republican presidential hopefuls spent about $10 million on advertising⁸ alone in December.

But Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says the campaign’s effect on the state’s overall economy is minimal⁹.

“I’ve seen studies that said it’s significant. I’ve seen other studies that in comparison to, you know, we have a 25 or 30 billion dollar agriculture economy. It’s not a huge proportion of the state economy, but we love having it here,” Northey said.

Campaign money has not created many jobs and Northey remains¹⁰ concerned about the state’s unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

“We still have higher unemployment than we’d like. We’re lower than the national average, but still would like to generate more jobs and competitiveness than in other places,” Northey said.

Machine Shed manager Alan Ruden isn’t concerned about his job, but he still worries about the economy. A bad farm year means fewer customers.

So far, none of the Republican candidates, including Rick Santorum, has won his support

“I’ve made up my mind twice, and both of those candidates dropped out of the race,” Ruden said.

Ruden says this will be his first caucus³, and he’s waiting until the last minute to make up his mind on who he will support.

1 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

2 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 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

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

7 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。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 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。