美国国家公共电台 NPR--Voters head to the polls for Georgia's runoff election

Voters head to the polls for Georgia's runoff election

Transcript¹

The 2022 midterms are finally coming to an end, as the runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker wraps up today in Georgia.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The 2022 election is finally coming to an end in Georgia.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

After a record-setting period of early voting, polls are open one more day. This is a runoff election. Voters are deciding between the top two candidates for U.S. Senate in the first round back in November. A victory for Senator Raphael Warnock just two years ago helped to give Democrats² control of the Senate, and now Warnock faces a challenge from Herschel Walker, who rode his football fame to the Republican nomination³.

MARTIN: WABE's Sam Gringlas has been covering this campaign for the last year. He is with us now from Atlanta. Hey, Sam. What a year.

SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Rachel. Yes, it certainly has been.

MARTIN: So you've been on the road with both of these candidates. What have the final few days of the campaign been like?

GRINGLAS: This is a race that has been almost as much about the biographies of these two candidates as the policy positions that they support. Herschel Walker has leaned into his status as one of the University of Georgia's most revered⁵ players to deflect⁶ really one controversy⁷ after the next over the course of this campaign, including allegations of domestic abuse and claims that he paid for ex-girlfriends' abortions⁸ despite his anti-abortion stance as a candidate. He's denied those claims, but here's Walker talking football at a Sunday rally on the lot of this massive Chevy dealership⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HERSCHEL WALKER: You saw Georgia won the SEC championship, didn't you? You saw a lot of people get out there and play, and they did it as one. They did it together. That's what we got to do right now. We got to do it together, and that's how we're going to win.

GRINGLAS: Raphael Warnock is senior pastor¹⁰ at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Atlanta. He talks a lot about King, especially with students, like during this Monday rally at Georgia Tech.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Martin Luther King Jr. was killed before I was born, but his voice captured my imagination. And part of what I was drawn¹¹ to was the way in which he used his faith not as a weapon to crush other people, but as a bridge to bring us together.

GRINGLAS: So you've got these two unique candidates that are each representative of these two really different and central institutions here in Georgia.

MARTIN: Yeah. So almost $80 million has been spent on TV ads in this race in just the last month, which is crazy. Is that investment likely to get people to the polls?

GRINGLAS: Well, it is very hard to turn on the TV right now without seeing basically back-to-back-to-back campaign ads for an entire commercial break. The reality is that this is a short runoff window - just four weeks, like you mentioned - and so you have got to educate voters really fast that they have to vote one more time. I will be watching the turnout strength for voters under 30 and Black voters. Warnock has also been making appeals to voters who went for Republican Governor Brian Kemp in November but did not vote for Walker. Whether these groups turn out for Warnock will be really key. Walker needs to amp up turnout among the state's most conservative voters. The question is whether Republican turnout on Election Day can be robust¹² enough to overcome Democrats' advantage in these early votes.

MARTIN: So, Sam, Democrats are going to control the U.S. Senate no matter what happens tonight in this runoff. How is that changing the dynamic, if at all?

GRINGLAS: Well, both campaigns are arguing that this one seat is really a big deal, even if it doesn't decide the balance of power. I have talked to a lot of voters at these stops, and I think part of why this race is still energizing¹³ people is the fact that who Georgia sends to the Senate is really a statement of the state's identity and its political trajectory¹⁴. That is really pressing right now, given Georgia is becoming more purple and the country is wading¹⁵ through such a fraught¹⁶ political moment.

MARTIN: WABE's Sam Gringlas in Atlanta, thank you so much, Sam.

GRINGLAS: Thank you, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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》

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

6 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

9 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

10 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

13 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

14 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

15 wading   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。
• The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

16 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！