CNN 2012-08-30

 “So it is my privilege to proclaim the 2012 Republican National Convention in session and called to order. The 2012 Republican National Convention stands in recess¹ subject to the call of the chair.”

 

And with that the Republican National Convention officially got started, and then it took a little pause: a one day delay due to concerns about severe weather means the convention is really going to get started today. We are going to spend the next two weeks covering these events. First, the Republicans, then the Democrats². Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley breaks down what the conventions are all about.

 

There is a lot of party that goes on. There is some really mind-numbing business that goes on. So it`s a little bit business, and it`s a whole lot show. These party conventions are two different animals, really. The first is, to do the business of the conventions, which is getting a nominee³ out there. Yes, we all know who it`s going to be. But they have to do that, that`s under the party rules and the way they`ve set it, and how it all works, they`ve got to go, and they`ve got to vote. So, that`s the official business. The rest of it is about putting on a face that voters will get an idea of who this candidate is, and what this party is about. The fact of the matter is, these are important, for these candidates, whether it`s the president or the challenger, to say this is what I am about. The party is presenting itself, be they Republicans or Democrats, to the general public. Number one, it helps excite their base, the people who are going to vote anyway, or who might say, well, it`s too cold, it`s too hot, I`m not going to the polls. So, it`s about their base, but it`s also about that minuscule⁴ number of swing voters that are still trying to figure out who they are going to vote for. Delegates are chosen depending on the state either through a caucus⁵, sometimes they are picked at state party conventions. Generally what happens is, a delegate runs in a primary, and they say, I`m Matt Smith and I want to be a delegate for Mitt⁶ Romney, and if they win, they go and cast their vote for Mitt Romney.

 

So, what can we expect during this week`s Republican convention in Tampa? Well, each day has a theme. Today`s is "we built it," tomorrow`s is "we can change it," and Thursday`s theme, the last day of the convention is "we believe in America." There are speeches throughout the convention that each day wraps up with some big ones. Tonight, it`s Ann Romney, the presumptive nominee`s wife. Then, New Jersey⁷ Governor Chris Christie closes out the day, tomorrow night Representative Paul Ryan, Romney`s vice<sup>8</sup> presidential pick takes the stage, and on Thursday, Mitt Romney accepts the nomination<sup>9</sup> to officially become his party`s presidential nominee.

 

The reason for the delay in Tampa is the reason why three Gulf¹⁰ state governors have declared a state of emergency. It`s Tropical Storm Isaac, it`s getting some comparisons to another infamous¹¹ storm, the rotating red circle you see in your screen is Isaac, the white area is it`s projected, it`s possible path. The blue line to the left that was the path of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Similar path and similar time too, Katrina hit seven years ago tomorrow. One major difference, Isaac isn`t nearly as powerful as Katrina, still, people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are preparing for Isaac, some of the emergency plans they are using were created as a result of Katrina. Rob Marciano looks at one difference between then and now.

 

They are much more protected now than they were seven years ago. What is behind me was not here seven years ago. This massive structure, the flood gates here basically at the 17 Street Canal, and on either side of those 11 flood gates, each of which weighs 20 tons, by the way, are eight massive pipes connected to pumps, that each have the ability to pump out water over 8,000 gallons per second. From the other side of that into Lake Pontchartrain where it should be. Because this is where the surge came because Katrina missed New Orleans just to the east, and the surge came this way into the canals, and that`s what made that levy¹² breech.

 

We want you to check out this home video from Brawley, California. That was one of about 300 earthquakes that hit Southern California on Sunday. Officials said there were reports of some minor¹³ damage. The strongest quake had a magnitude of 5.5. One expert described the event as an earthquake swarm¹⁴. This area is what he called a zone of transition between two fault lines, the Imperial and San Andreas. The expert says these zones tend to get more earthquake activity than other parts of the state.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

2 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》

3 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。

4 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

5 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。

6 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。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 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。

9 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。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

12 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

13 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

14 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。