VOA标准英语2012--Race for US Republican Party Nomination Heads South

Race for US Republican Party Nomination¹ Heads South

Mitt² Romney captured nearly 40 per cent of the vote in New Hampshire, putting him in a clear lead in the race. In his victory speech, Romney looked to South Carolina and the man who could ulimately be his main competitor, President Barack Obama.
"And tonight, we're asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make 2012 the year [President Barack Obama] runs out of time," Romnay said.
Congressman³ Ron Paul, who placed second in New Hampshire, was undeterred, as was Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor and ambassador to China. "I'd say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentleman!," Huntsman said.
Rick Santorum, who lost to Romney by only eight votes in Iowa, cast himself as the genuine candidate of the Republican base. "Ladies and gentleman, we have an opportunity in this race. We have an opportunity to be the true conservative," Santorum said.
But political analysts⁴, say that for Romney's Republican rivals, South Carolina's January 21 primary could determine whether they will ever be able to mount a serious challenge.
"To the extent that folks like Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman were focusing all their attention on really early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, that was time and money and effort that they weren't putting into South Carolina. So, everyone else who is not Romney is going to be playing catch-up," said Chris Galdieri of St. Anselm College.
Even before votes were cast in New Hampshire, candidates were out meeting with voters in South Carolina trying to pave the way for victory there.
Mitt Romney has received the endorsement⁵ of 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who won the South Carolina primary that year. He's also got the support of the state's governor, Nikki Haley.
Analysts say that unless conservative voters who do not like Romney start to coalesce⁶ around a single candidate, Romney could very likely emerge as the candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in the general election.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 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。

3 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。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

6 coalesce   

v.联合，结合，合并

参考例句：

• And these rings of gas would then eventually coalesce and form the planets.这些气体环最后终于凝结形成行星。
• They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce.他们可能会一次又一次地发生碰撞，直到他们合并。