VOA标准英语2008年-McCain Surges in Polls as Obama Challenges Him

New public opinion polls show Republican John McCain surging in the U.S. presidential race over Democrat¹ Barack Obama. Both candidates campaigned Monday on the issues of change and the economy, as we hear from VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone.

Senator McCain appears to have gotten a sizable boost from last week's Republican convention. McCain now leads in two Gallup polls, and is tied with Senator Obama in two other national surveys.

Most polls had Obama ahead prior to both party conventions.

McCain's campaign seems to enjoy new life thanks in large part to the addition of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican candidate for vice² president.
　

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (left) introduces John McCain to audience in Kansas City, Mo., 8 Sep 2008

Palin introduced McCain Monday at a rally in Missouri. "In politics, there are candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those like John McCain who use their careers to promote change," she said.

McCain has shifted his emphasis in recent days to making the argument that he and Palin are the true candidates of change, and that their reputations as political mavericks³ will bring reform to Washington. "We don't work for a party and we don't work for a special interest. We don't work for ourselves. We are going to work for you and we are going to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. and we are going to take on the special interests," he said.

Senator Obama also focused on the economy Monday during a campaign event in Michigan, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
　

Barack Obama campaigning in Michigan 8 Sep 2008

But Obama took issue with McCain's attempt to portray⁴ the Republican ticket as agents of change after eight years of Republican control of the White House. "I mean, you can't just make stuff up. You can't just recreate yourself. You can't just reinvent yourself. The American people are not stupid! What they are looking for is somebody who has been consistently calling for change," he said.

Obama got some help from former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who campaigned for the Democratic ticket of Obama and vice presidential candidate Joe Biden in Florida. "If we want to tackle the myriad⁵ of challenges facing our country, then to slightly amend⁶ my comments from Denver [at the Democratic convention], no way, no how, no McCain, no Palin!," she said.

Meanwhile, the surprise choice of Governor Palin to serve as Senator McCain's running mate won praise from both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The president told Fox television that Senator McCain made what he called an "inspired pick" with Palin, while Vice President Cheney said he thought Palin's speech at last week's Republican convention was "superb".

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

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 mavericks   

未烙印的牲畜( maverick的名词复数 )； 标新立异的人，不合常规的人

参考例句：

• And what about the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki? 那达拉斯小牛队和诺维斯基呢？
• And we see it with bringing Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. 而且我们看到它同实现基德向达拉斯小牛队。

4 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

5 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

6 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。