2007年VOA标准英语-Romney Latest Republican Joins 2008 US Presiden

By Jim Malone
Washington
13 February 2007

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney is the latest Republican to join the race for president in 2008.  VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone has details from Washington.

Mitt Romney announced his candidacy in front of supporters in his home state of Michigan.

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Former one-term Republican governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney announces his candidacy for president at The Henry Ford Museum

"I believe we are overtaxed and government is overfed," he said.  "Washington is spending too much money.  I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders.  I believe the best days of this country are ahead of us, because I believe in America."

Romney, 59, said it is time for innovation and transformation³ in Washington.  But he also said it would have to be done by a Washington outsider, not by what he called lifelong politicians who have been involved in too many deals and too many entanglements⁴.

On foreign policy, Romney said the U.S. role in the world should be defined not just by might, but also by a willingness to lead, serve and share with other nations.

"We must extend our hand to Africa's poor and diseased and brutalized," he added.  "We must lead the world's civilized⁵ nations in a partnership⁶ that will support moderate Muslim nations and peoples, to help them embrace principles of modernity and defeat violent Jihad."

On Iraq, Romney supports President Bush's troop surge and says that failure in Iraq could be devastating⁷ for the U.S. and the region.

Romney's father, George Romney, served as governor of Michigan in the 1960's and made an unsuccessful bid for president in 1968.

Mitt Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts and now hopes to appeal to conservative Republican voters on a national scale.

But some social conservatives are suspicious of past comments he made while running for office in Massachusetts that indicated more moderate views on social issues such as abortion⁸ and homosexual rights.

Romney also faces a challenge in convincing voters that his Mormon religious beliefs will not be an issue in the campaign.  Mormons consider themselves Christians⁹, but other churches reject some of the beliefs handed down by the founder¹⁰ of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, in the early 1800's.

Some recent polls suggest a substantial number of Americans would not vote for a Mormon for president.

Romney joins a crowded Republican presidential field that is expected to include Arizona Senator John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Public opinion polls indicate McCain and Giuliani have the most support among Republicans at the moment.

Giuliani was trying to build on that support during a recent campaign swing through California.

"Presidents have to make decisions and move the country forward, and that is the kind of president that I would like to be," said Giuliani.

Other Republicans who are either running for president or who have taken initial steps to do so include Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, California Congressman¹¹ Duncan Hunter, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore.

1 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。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

4 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 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。

9 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。