VOA慢速英语2016 美国总统大选 爱荷华州成为焦点（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-02-02 Iowa Starts 'Caucus' Voting for US President 美国总统大选 爱荷华州成为焦点

People in Iowa will vote for presidential candidates in the Republican and Democratic parties Monday night.

周一晚间，爱荷华州公民将为共和党和民主党的总统候选人投票。

Public opinion studies show strong support for two candidates in each party.

民意调查显示：两党各有一位候选人颇得民心。

Businessman Donald Trump leads Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican race. Hillary Clinton leads Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race.

在共和党竞选中，商人唐纳德.特朗普领先于参议员特德.克鲁斯。而在民主党竞选中希拉里.克林顿领先于参议员伯尼.桑德斯。

But both races are close.

但这两场竞选都处于胶着状态。

Although Sanders is running as a Democrat, he is an independent. He calls himself a democratic socialist.

桑德斯虽作为民主党人参选，但他是独立人士。他自称是民主社会主义者。

This voting in states like Iowa is called a caucus. A caucus lets voters of each political party – Democrat and Republican – say who they favor or prefer at this time. 

包括爱荷华州在内的诸多州的此类投票称为党团会议。党团会议旨在让每个政党（即民主党和共和党）的选民，表明自己的支持对象。

Candidates who win the support of voters in Iowa do not always win the presidency. In 1980, Ronald Reagan lost the Iowa vote but became the Republican party nominee. He won the presidency.

赢得爱荷华州选民支持的候选人不一定能赢得总统职位。1980年，罗纳德.里根虽在爱荷华州初选时败北，但他却成为共和党候选人，并最终就任总统一职。

There are 12 Republican candidates and three Democratic candidates.

目前参选人员为12位共和党候选人以及3位民主党候选人。

On Sunday, many of the candidates held events throughout Iowa. They spoke to their supporters and strongly criticized their opponents.

上周日，许多候选人在爱荷华州各地举行活动。他们发表演讲，并强烈抨击对手。

Trump and Cruz are both trying to gain the support of the many Iowans who have strong Christian religious beliefs.

特朗普和克鲁兹都希望赢得占大多数的具有强烈基督教信仰的爱荷华州人的支持。

Also on Sunday, Sanders and Clinton reached an agreement with Democratic party officials to have more debates. Many people in the party had asked for them.

同样是在周日，桑德斯和克林顿同民主党官员达成协议将会举行更多场辩论。民主党内很多人都曾要求他们这样做。

The next primary election will take place February 9 in the northeastern state of New Hampshire. Public opinion studies show Sanders has much more support in the state than Clinton. Sanders is from the state of Vermont, which borders New Hampshire.

下场初选将于2月9日在东北部的新罕布什尔州举行。民意调查显示，桑德斯在该州的支持率远远超出克林顿。桑德斯来自于同新罕布什尔州相邻的佛蒙特州。

Words in This Story

caucus - n. an event in which members of apolitical party gather for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election

primary – adj. voting that reduces the number of candidates before a larger election