VOA标准英语2008年-Obama, McCain Set Aside Politics, Call on Ameri

U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama set aside politics on Thursday as they honored the memory of those killed seven years ago in terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The sharp rhetoric¹ that has marked much of this year's campaign was absent as the two senators spoke² at a forum³ on public service at one of the country's top universities. The nominees⁴ of the Democratic and Republican parties spoke separately, but each man said he believes in expanding volunteer and service opportunities for all Americans. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York Bureau.
　

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, greets Republican counterpart, Sen. John McCain, during Service Nation Summit at Columbia University in New York, 11 Sep 2008

Arizona Senator John McCain, a Republican, and his Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, vowed⁵ to put aside partisan⁶ politics Thursday to honor the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

It was the first time the two men appeared together since becoming their parties' presidential nominees. They made a solemn visit to "ground zero," where New York's World Trade Center skyscrapers⁷ once stood, near Wall Street, then traveled to Columbia University (in another part of Manhattan) for the public-service forum.

An overflow⁸ crowd of thousands of people, most of them students, watched the candidates on a large outdoor screen, and the forum also was broadcast nationwide.

The senators met briefly⁹ to shake hands, but they otherwise spoke separately, answering a series of questions from the moderators, two respected journalists. The theme of the evening was promoting public service and civic¹⁰ engagement among Americans, and both senators said that form of service should be a fundamental value of U.S. society.

McCain, who spoke first, said he believes Americans are eager to perform public service both at home and abroad.

"I believe Americans are ready to now to be inspired. They are ready to go," McCain said. "They understand the challenges that we have in this world. They see the Russian invasion of a little country called Georgia. They see the problems in Afghanistan growing larger, they see a whole lot of things happening in the world that is going to require us to serve, and that opportunity has to be provided for them."

McCain said he supports "careful" expansion of government-sponsored organizations like the Peace Corps¹¹, which places volunteers in developing countries, as well as a similar domestic-service program known as AmeriCorps. The Republican candidate said he hopes to see the greatest expansion of service in private and faith-based volunteer initiatives, what he called "the grass roots" of service.

Obama told the crowd he believes Americans are "yearning¹²" for a greater sense of civic responsibility and mutual¹³ cooperation. Public service should start early in life, the Democratic candidate said, pledging that as president he would encourage young people to join the military or pursue opportunities with programs like Teach for America or AmeriCorps. Obama said the domestic version of the Peace Corps should be dramatically expanded, from 75,000 to 250,000 positions.

"I believe firmly that government should expand the avenues of opportunity," Obama said. "I want to create an energy corps, a clean energy corps that can mobilize individual citizens to help create greater energy efficiency in our country. I want to mobilize seniors to get involved with their schools or local hospitals and health clinics. There's going to be a whole range of ways to do it. Some of it is going to cost money, but mostly it requires government providing these opportunities and avenues."

The forum was hosted by ServiceNation, an umbrella group of volunteer organizations seeking to promote civic engagement and volunteer work among U.S. college students.

1 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。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

7 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

8 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

11 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• 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。

12 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

13 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。