VOA标准英语2013--奥巴马成2014年国会中期选举关键

 

Obama Has Major Stake in 2014 US Elections 奥巴马成2014年国会中期选举关键

U.S. voters head to the polls next November for congressional midterm elections with enormous political stakes for President Barack Obama.  All 435 seats in the  Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be at stake along with 33 of the 100 seats in the Democratically-controlled Senate.  Obama has seen a major dip in  his public approval rating of late and if that continues, it could be a major factor in the November elections. 

House Speaker John Boehner and his fellow Republicans hope to gain congressional seats in November by focusing on the troubled rollout of Obama’s health care law.

“Why did the president mislead the American people when he promised they could keep their health care plan?  Why is Obamacare forcing Americans to lose access to the  doctors they like,” said Boehner.

Democrats¹ insist public support for the law will increase over time.  But even Obama acknowledges that Democrats are paying a political price in the short term.

“There is no doubt that our failure to roll out the ACA [Affordable Care Act] smoothly³ has put a burden on Democrats, whether they are running or not, because they  stood up and supported this effort through thick and thin,” he said.

The president’s party often lost seats in the second term midterm election and the fate of the health care law would have a major impact on the elections, said  analyst⁴ John Fortier.

“And I think the uncertainty⁵ of what will happen between now and the midterm election is really the biggest factor, uncertainty for the American people, but also for  a lot of Democrats who are nervously⁶ eyeing the elections themselves and wondering how they are going to be affected,” he said.

Public attitudes toward Congress were dismal⁷ in the wake of the government shutdown in October, said Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown.

“The American people are frustrated," he said. "They see what is going on in Washington and scratch their heads and say, ‘Can’t these guys make anything happen?’”

Lawmakers with Tea Party support got much of the blame for the shutdown, and that has sparked a new battle within the Republican Party, said Republican strategist Ford²  O’Connell.

“Many mainstream⁸ Republicans are now pointing the finger at the Tea Party as well, not just Democrats," he said. "The Tea Party is on to the right issues.  The  question is: are they going to change their tactics and their messaging?”

House Speaker Boehner recently lashed⁹ out at conservative groups that oppose compromise.

“I think they are misleading their followers¹⁰.  I think they are pushing our members in places where they don’t want to be and frankly¹¹ I just think that they have  lost all credibility,” he said.

Democrats won control of the House in 2006 but Republicans won it back in 2010.  No major tide for either party was expected this year, said analyst Rhodes Cook.

“I don’t think we are going to have any big wave election like that in part because we had it, you know, in 2010.  Those seats that were ready to topple have  toppled," he said. "We are down basically to seats that are on pretty firm ground for the Republicans.”

Republicans are favored to hold their majority in the House and the real battle will be for control of the now-Democratically-held Senate.

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 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 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

7 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。