VOA慢速英语20061104a

IN THE NEWS - Why Say Something Nice? US Elections Bring Out Attack AdsBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, November 04, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.


A picture from the negative ad targeting Congressman¹ Ford²

The United States will hold local, state and national elections this Tuesday. Opinion studies suggest that the Democrats⁴ may be in a position to end Republican control of one or both houses of Congress.

Also, thirty-six of the fifty states will elect governors. If the Democrats gain four governor's offices, the Republicans would lose their majority at the state level.

So both parties are fighting hard. Elections in America bring a flood of political advertising⁵, especially on television. These messages are often negative or attack ads. They point out not the good qualities of candidates, but the bad qualities of their opponents. Even if the facts are correct, how they are presented may be questionable⁶.

Americans traditionally say they dislike negative ads. But political experts say these ads often work.

In many cases, the candidates who stand to gain from negative ads can say that their own campaigns were not involved. Outside groups or national party committees often pay for these ads.

Some are about issues, like a candidate's position on the war in Iraq or immigration. But political ads increasingly seem to be attacking candidates personally.

Some political observers say this year's election has brought more negative ads than ever before. Whether this is true remains⁷ to be proven.

But some ads have made news, like a Republican National Committee ad against Harold Ford. The Democrat³ is in a close race in an important Senate election in the southern state of Tennessee.

The ad was based on the fact that last year he attended a Super Bowl party held by the men's magazine Playboy. The ad showed an actress with bare shoulders saying she met him at the Playboy party. Harold, call me, she says.

The ad might have seemed humorous, except the woman was white and Mister Ford is black. Critics said it was racist⁸. His Republican opponent, Bob Corker, denounced the ad. It was withdrawn⁹.

Democrats are also running attack ads. In many cases, these try to gain from President Bush's low approval ratings by linking Republican candidates to him.

But there have also been ads like the one in Florida accusing a Republican congressman of profiting from a so-called drug deal. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was responsible for the ad.

The ad noted¹⁰ that Clay Shaw sold stock in a drug company after voting for changes in the Medicare program for older Americans. But the Web site FactCheck.org says the shares were in a company that could not have profited from the legislation. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael McDonald is a professor of government and politics at George Mason University in Virginia. He tells us that the Harold Ford ad in Tennessee appears to have increased early voting in that state. But, as he also noted, more interest in a race can mean more votes for either candidate.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Brianna Blake. For more election news, go to www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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》

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。