VOA慢速英语2014 对参议院的控制权取决于北卡罗来纳州

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-26 Control of US Senate Depends on North Carolina 对参议院的控制权取决于北卡罗来纳州

U.S. congressional elections are less than two weeks away. A small number of races will decide if the Democratic party keeps control of the U.S. Senate or if Republicans will have a majority. Republicans control the House of Representatives now. Political experts do not expect that will change next year. If Republicans also take control of the Senate, experts say President Obama will have a very difficult time reaching his goals in his last two years in office.

One of the closest Senate races is in the southern state of North Carolina. Democrat¹ Kay Hagan is in a fight to keep her seat. Republican Thom Tillis is her opponent.

VOA recently went to North Carolina to examine the race.

Among those supporting Senator Hagan is Melissa Reed. She works for the group Planned Parenthood, which supports a woman’s right to end her pregnancy², a process called abortion³.

“This is probably the most important Senate race in the country. The control of the Senate is really going to come down to three seats and North Carolina is at the very top.”

Ms. Reed opposes Republican efforts to limit abortion.

“Women think that their [Republican] policies are out of touch and that they are stuck in the past.”

Anti-abortion activists⁴ are supporting Mr. Tillis.

Tami Fitzgerald is one of those activists. She says if many social conservatives vote, Mr. Tillis could defeat Senator Hagan.

“A majority of people in this state are pro-life -- about 55 percent. And especially among the conservative voters in the state, it is a larger number -- about 70 percent.”

The Senate race in North Carolina is one of only a small number of races around the country that will decide which political party will control the U.S. Senate for the next two years. If Republicans can take control from the Democrats⁵, it will have a big effect on President Obama’s last two years in office.

Mr. Tillis has been working hard to link Senator Hagan to President Obama and his low public opinion survey ratings.

“I am determined⁶ to make it clear that people know that Senator Hagan has voted with President Obama 96 percent of the time.”

Senator Hagan is like many Democrats around the country: she wants people to make their decisions about her based on her record, not Mr. Obama’s record.

“Because he [Mr. Tillis] wants to make this election about the president. The president is not on the ballot⁷. This race is about who is going to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.”

John Davis is an expert on North Carolina politics. He says the president may not be on the ballot, but he is having an effect on the race because of his low approval ratings.

“And right now his numbers are lousy. His job approval is in the low 40s overall. It is in the mid-30s on foreign policy. So this is a great time to, if you are a Republican, to tie your opponent to the president -- lousy numbers and it matters a lot in a midterm election year.”

Sean Haugh is a candidate for the Senate seat now held by Ms. Hagan. He is a member of the Libertarian party. He could have an effect on the close race. He works as a pizza delivery driver. He meets with his supporters when he is not bringing pizzas to peoples’ homes.

“I personally wanted to walk in the voting booth in November and be able to vote for something other than more war and more debt.”

Mitch Kokai works at the John Locke Foundation, which supports free markets. He says the race is important for Republicans.

“Most people think that if they are going to do it, North Carolina is probably one that they are going to have to win because Hagan would be one of the easier targets.”

The campaign is becoming more active in its final days. Both political parties know the race is very important not just in North Carolina but nationally.

Words in This Story

majority – n. the group or party that is the greater part of a large group

abortion – n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus⁸

activists – n. persons who use or support strong actions (such as public protests) to help make changes in politics or society

record – n. an official written document that gives proof of something or tells about past events

ballot – n. a piece of paper used to vote in an election

lousy – adj. bad or poor

1 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。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

4 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》

5 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》

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。