Democratic Party Convention Underway

 

By Dan Robinson
 
The Democratic national convention, which on Thursday will nominate Senator John Kerry for president, is underway in Boston. Major figures in the Democratic Party are among the speakers at this opening session.

"Forty fourth national convention of Democratic Party will now come to honor."

Democrats¹ opened their convention Monday afternoon in Boston with a list of speakers headed by former President Clinton, as well as his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton.

Party officials say each of the prominent figures will focus on aspects of Senator Kerry's foreign and domestic agenda, as part of the convention's overall goal of making the American public more familiar with the Democratic presidential candidate.

Still a major influence in party politics, Mr. Clinton's appearance marks the start of a week in which Democrats formally declare their platform and the direction they believe the nation should take under a hoped for John Kerry administration.

Former Vice² President Al Gore³, who won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election but lost in crucial electoral votes, will also address the gathering⁴.

Mr. Gore has been, perhaps, the sharpest critic of justifications⁵ President Bush used to take the nation to war in Iraq, sometimes employing fiery⁶ rhetoric⁷. But Democratic Party officials and Senator Kerry himself say they wish to tone down attacks on the president during the convention, in order to set a positive and optimistic tone for the election campaign.

Former President Jimmy Carter will also be among the convention's lead-off speakers.

In the hours before the convention opened, American military veterans who served with Mr. Kerry in Vietnam were part of a Democrat-sponsored rally. Also there was another veteran and former Democratic senator, Max Cleland. "This country is ready to shift from the raw deal it is getting now to the real deal John Kerry is in every way," he said.

Mr. Kerry has continued campaigning, flying from the state of Ohio to Florida. Those two states and a number of others are seen as critical to any Kerry victory in the November presidential election.

One of the latest public opinion polls, CNN-USA Today-Gallup, showed Mr. Kerry with a slight advantage in Ohio, where unemployment rates have been high, while President Bush still holds a narrow percentage point lead in Florida.

Dan Robinson, VOA News, Boston.

注释：
agenda 议程
crucial 至关重要的
justification 认为有理的
fiery 激烈的
rhetoric 雄辩
tone down 降低
optimistic 乐观的
rally 集结
CNN-USA Today-Gallup 美国有线电视新闻网和《今日美国报》联合举行的民意调查

 

1 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》

2 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。

3 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 justifications   

正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If he a vulgar person, she does not have justifications for him. 如果他是个低级趣味的人，她早就不会理他了。
• It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. 这则取决于它们对于竞争的影响和可能存在的正当抗辩理由。

6 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

7 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。