民主党副总统候选人的身份是律师,市长和州长

AS IT IS 2016-11-04 Democratic VP Candidate Was Lawyer, Mayor and Governor 民主党副总统候选人的身份是律师,市长和州长

Tim Kaine is the Democratic Party’s vice¹-presidential nominee². He represents the eastern state of Virginia in the United States Senate.

Kaine is 58 years old. He is married and has three children. One is a U.S. Marine³.

When he was a young man, Kaine served as a Catholic religious worker in Honduras. He learned to speak the Spanish language there. He decided⁴ to enter public service after seeing poverty in Central America.

Kaine graduated from Harvard Law School. He has served on local, state and national levels of government as a city councilman, mayor, lieutenant⁵ governor, governor and U.S. senator.

He worked as a civil rights lawyer for 17 years. During that time, for six years, he also taught at a law school.

Kaine has called himself “boring.” Experts say he was a safe choice to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate. He is well-liked and considered free of scandal. Many people think he is a centrist -- supporting political positions that are neither very liberal nor very conservative. However, his congressional voting record represents a mostly liberal thinking.

Kaine says he has learned from difficult experiences.

“These are tough times for many in our country, but we’re tough people, and that’s something else I learned from my folks -- tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”

Kaine says one of his most difficult times as a public official was in 2007, when he was governor. A mass shooting took place at a university in Virginia. A mentally ill student killed 32 people and himself in the attack. Following the tragedy, Kaine worked to reform the state’s mental health system.

He led the Democratic National Committee in 2008 and was considered as a possible vice president for Barack Obama.

Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, was a city judge and recently served as Virginia’s secretary of education. Her father is a former Republican governor of Virginia.

Kaine and Holton attend religious services at a church in a low-income area of Richmond, the city he once led as mayor. The couple were married there and he has been a member for more than 30 years. Most of the people who attend are black. Kaine is one of the few white members. He sang in the church’s choir⁶ for 14 years. He also plays the piano and the harmonica. He carries harmonicas with him when he travels.

Words in This Story

boring - adj. dull and uninteresting : causing boredom⁷

scandal - n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

tough - adj. strong and not easily broken or damaged

my folks - an espression meaning “my parents”

choir - n. a group of singers especially in a church

piano - n. a large musical instrument with a keyboard that you play by pressing black and white keys and that produces sound when small hammers inside the piano hit steel wires

harmonica - n. a small musical instrument that is played with your mouth

1 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。

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 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 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。

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 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

7 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。