VOA慢速英语2010年-IN THE NEWS - US Voters Look to Women

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, twelve American states voted for candidates for elections in November. Tuesday was the busiest day of the primary season -- and women were the big winners.

In California, the Republicans nominated two businesswomen for governor and United States senator. Both are former heads of technology companies. They spent millions of their own money on their campaigns.

The nominee¹ to replace Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who faces a term limit, is Meg Whitman. She led the online marketplace eBay. She will face Democrat² and former governor Jerry Brown.

Carly Fiorina led Hewlett-Packard until she lost her job in two thousand five. She will try to deny a fourth term to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer³.

In South Carolina, state representative Nikki Haley won more votes than the three men who sought the Republican nomination⁴ for governor. But she was just short of a majority, so she will face a runoff election.

Meg Whitman, left, the Republican nominee for California governor, and Carly Fiorina, the party's Senate nominee, celebrate their primary victories

She is the daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants. And she is a favorite of the Tea Party, a conservative but loosely organized movement.

The campaign included accusations⁵ that she cheated on her husband, which she denied.

In Arkansas, Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln narrowly won nomination to a third term. Arkansas native Bill Clinton campaigned for her.

But labor⁶ unions and progressive groups tried to defeat her for opposing a "public option." That was the idea of a government health-insurance program. She also opposed efforts to make it easier for unions to gain members.

Now, Senator Lincoln faces Republican congressman⁷ John Boozman in the general election.

Senator Blanche Lincoln after winning Arkansas' Democratic primary election

And in Nevada, Republicans nominated Sharron Angle for the Senate with strong support from Tea Party activists⁸. The former state lawmaker will now try to defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry⁹ Reid.

Public opinion surveys show voters are angry with office holders¹⁰. But political scientist Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia thinks the media has overstated anti-incumbent¹¹ feelings.

LARRY SABATO: "So actually, the message I see coming out of the primaries is that the party base on the Democratic and Republican side is actually fairly satisfied with the people who are representing them. That may not be true of the independents, including the Tea Party people. They will vote in November for the most part. But for now, we don’t see the kind of ant-incumbent wave that many have been discussing."

Larry Sabato also says Democrats¹² were happy that Republicans nominated very conservative candidates supported by the Tea Party. He says Democrats now see a much better chance to win some of those races.

The elections in November come midway in President Obama's term. Historically, the party in the White House -- currently the Democratic Party -- suffers losses in midterm elections. But incumbent Republicans have also lost primary races this year.

In California, voters passed a measure to replace their primary election system, starting next year. They agreed to a single primary for all candidates from any party, or no party, in congressional, statewide and legislative¹³ races. The two candidates with the most votes will face each other in the general election. Voters in Washington State approved a system like this in two thousand four.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Doug Johnson.

 

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 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。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 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。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 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。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

10 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

11 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

12 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》

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。