美国国家公共电台 NPR--Candidates for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat traded barbs in a formal setting

Candidates for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat traded barbs¹ in a formal setting

Transcript²

The only debate in the highly contentious³ Pennsylvania Senate race took place Tuesday night in Harrisburg, Pa. Democrat⁴ John Fetterman faces Republican Mehmet Oz.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Pennsylvania Senate candidates held their only debate last night. Democrat John Fetterman faced Republican Mehmet Oz.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

One is a former small-city mayor and current lieutenant⁵ governor. The other is a TV doctor. Each has questioned the other's fitness for office. But beyond their personalities⁶ is a question of power. The U.S. Senate is closely divided. And the way the math works out, a Democratic win in this one race would give them a good chance to keep control. A Republican win in this one race would sharply increase their chance to regain⁷ power.

FADEL: NPR's Don Gonyea was in Harrisburg to see the candidates.

Good morning, Don.

DON GONYEA, BYLINE⁸: Good morning.

FADEL: So what impression did they make?

GONYEA: Well, Fetterman's health was a big question going in. Recall, he had a stroke...

FADEL: Right.

GONYEA: ...Almost six months ago. He's still recovering. His doctor says he's fit to serve, but he does have some auditory processing issues. So video monitors on stage provided him with written text of everything being said in real time during the debate. Fair to say he did not put concerns voters may have about his health to rest. He often spoke⁹ haltingly. This is his opening statement.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEBATE)

JOHN FETTERMAN: Hi. Good night, everybody. I'm running to serve Pennsylvania. He's running to use Pennsylvania. Here's the man that spent more than $20 million of his own money to try to buy that seat.

GONYEA: Oz, on the other hand, was clearly very much at home in a TV studio. It felt like a performance. And while his answers were smoother than Fetterman's, he did dodge¹⁰ questions, choosing instead to attack his opponent.

FADEL: So let's talk about the issues they were debating. There's probably no issue more contentious this year than abortion¹¹. How did they address that?

GONYEA: It was a moment when you could feel Oz trying to reach into the suburbs to convince moderate and independent voters that he has a moderate position on abortion. He says he is pro-life but supports exceptions for rape¹², incest or protecting the life of the woman.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEBATE)

MEHMET OZ: As a physician, I've been in the room when there're some difficult conversations happening. I don't want the federal government involved with that at all. I want women, doctors, local political leaders - letting the democracy that's always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves.

GONYEA: What he doesn't say is that many states have or may yet pass laws without those exceptions that he supports, including Pennsylvania, where the Republican gubernatorial candidate pledges to do just that. Here's Fetterman's response.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEBATE)

FETTERMAN: Roe¹³ v. Wade¹⁴, for me, is - should be the law. He celebrated¹⁵ when Roe v. Wade went down. And my campaign would fight for Roe v. Wade and, if given the opportunity, to codify¹⁶ it into law.

GONYEA: And that was one of Fetterman's most direct, most focused attacks on Oz.

FADEL: OK. So Democrats¹⁷ want to hammer Oz and other Republicans on abortion as a pivotal issue in these midterms, and Republicans have been successfully using crime as a wedge issue. What did that look like last night?

GONYEA: Oz hit that hard. He accuses Fetterman of wanting widespread release of violent criminals. And he attacks Fetterman's record from his time as mayor of the small town, Braddock, Pa. Here's Oz.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEBATE)

OZ: A part of the problem is that we have taken away the ability of police to do their job. And that's on John Fetterman because John Fetterman has taken such a harsh position against them. He's undermined them at every level, taken away some of their funding.

GONYEA: Fetterman countered that gun violence went down during his time as mayor, but it's still an issue that polls show works broadly against Democrats.

FADEL: OK. So, Don, the only debate now in the books. What do we expect from the two campaigns with Election Day less than two weeks away?

GONYEA: Fetterman needs to deliver his final message convincingly. Expect him to get out in front of crowds. It's a more controlled setting, but he's done well with that in recent weeks. Oz maybe needs to be more relatable. His camp does think they have some momentum¹⁸ now. He has not been as present on the campaign trail. His events are often closed to most media or by invite only. But he does have an event today where he'll no doubt bask¹⁹ in what he sees as a big win in the debate. We'll also be watching to see what impact last night had on voters.

FADEL: NPR's Don Gonyea covering last night's debate in Harrisburg. Thank you so much.

GONYEA: A pleasure.

1 barbs   

n.（箭头、鱼钩等的）倒钩( barb的名词复数 )；带刺的话；毕露的锋芒；钩状毛

参考例句：

• She slung barbs at me. 她说了些讥刺我的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I would no longer uncomplainingly accept their barbs or allow their unaccountable power to go unchallenged. 我不会再毫无怨言地洗耳恭听他们带刺的话，或让他们的不负责任的权力不受到挑战。 来自辞典例句

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

4 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。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

7 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 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。

10 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

11 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

14 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

15 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

16 codify   

v.将法律、法规等编成法典

参考例句：

• The noble,Dracon,was asked to codify the laws.贵族德拉古被选为立法者。
• The new government promised to codify the laws.新政府应允要编纂法典。

17 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》

18 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

19 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。