VOA慢速英语2016 弗吉尼亚县可在总统竞选中发挥重要作用

AS IT IS 2016-10-11 Virginia County Could Play Major Role in Presidential Race 弗吉尼亚县可在总统竞选中发挥重要作用

Virginia is one of the so-called “swing” or “battleground” states in the 2016 presidential election. Voters there could decide whether Republican Donald Trump¹ or Democrat² Hillary Clinton becomes president.

弗吉尼亚是2016总统大选中所谓的“摇摆州”或“战场”。选民可以决定是共和党人唐纳德·特朗普还是民主党人希拉里·克林顿成为总统。

The town of Leesburg, Virginia holds many memories of the past.In many places, it looks like the Virginia that voted for many years for Republicans in presidential elections.

弗吉尼亚的利斯堡拥有许多过去的回忆。很多地方，在多年的总统大选中，弗吉尼亚都投票给共和党人。

But Virginia is changing.Democratic candidates for president know that it is no longer a state Republican presidential candidates know they will win.

但弗吉尼亚正在变化。民主党总统候选人知道，弗吉尼亚已经不再是共和党总统候选人认为能够赢的州。

Craig Green is a Clinton supporter.

克雷格·格林是克林顿的支持者。

Green is a Democratic activist³ in Loudoun County.Loudoun County is a part of northern Virginiathat has changed due to the growth of the high-tech⁴ industry and a rise in the number of foreign skilled workers.

格林是劳登县民主党支持者。劳登县位于弗吉尼亚北部，由于高技术产业的发展以及外国技工数量上升而发生了改变。

Green says the changing demographics will help Democrats⁵ and hurt Republicans.

格林表示，不断变化的人口结构将有助于民主党人但却对共和党人不利。

“I went canvassing⁷ this weekend, and pretty much universally it was, ‘Oh, that Trump guy, there is no way I could vote for him.’”

“这个周末我去拉票，这是非常普遍的，‘哦，那个叫特朗普的人，没有办法可以让我投票给他。’”

From 1968 to 2004, the county voted for Republican presidential candidates.But in 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama won Virginia with the help of Loudoun County.

从1968年至2004年，该县都投票支持共和党总统候选人。但在2008年和2012年，巴拉克·奥巴马通过劳登县的帮助最终赢得了弗吉尼亚州的支持。

The U.S. Census⁸ Bureau reports that 15 percent of the county’s population is Asian.Green notes many African, Indian and Chinese families also live in the county.

美国人口普查局报告表示，该县15%的人口是亚洲人。格林指出许多非洲、印度和中国的家庭也生活在该县。

Sri Amudhanar is a software engineer.He is a Democrat and a Clinton supporter.He came to the United States almost 30 years ago.He says the county’s growing immigrant population is affecting the politics of Virginia.

Sri Amudhanar是软件工程师。他是民主党人以及克林顿的支持者。他大概30年前来到美国。他说，该县的移民数量的增长正影响着弗吉尼亚的政治。

“They take an oath of citizenship⁹ when they become Americans, and that’s a very solemn process.It’s a very moving process, and we have all gone through that,and that binds¹¹ us to America very, very strongly and to its values, and one of the values is that everybody is really equal.”

“当他们成为美国人时，他们会进行宣誓，这是一个非常庄严的过程。也是一个非常感人的过程，我们都经历过，这将使我们与美国及其价值观密切结合，其中一个价值观是，人人平等。”

Even though the state’s demographics are changing, Donald Trump is working hard to win in Virginia.

尽管该州的人口结构正在发生变化，唐纳德·特朗普正在努力获取弗吉尼亚的支持。

Leesburg restaurant owner Bryan Crosswhite is a Trump supporter.

利斯堡餐厅的老板布莱恩·克罗斯怀特是特朗普的一个支持者。

“He resonates because he’s a straight-talker.He just, he speaks the truth whether you like it or not.He’s going to tell you what he thinks.”

“他因他的耿直与你产生共鸣。不管你喜不喜欢，他都说实话。他会告诉你他的想法。”

More than 150 years ago Virginia was the site of many battles during the Civil War.Today, it is a different kind of battleground.The state is changing, and an increasingly diverse population is writing a new chapter in America’s story.

150多年前，弗吉尼亚州是美国南北战争期间许多战役所在地。今天，它是另一种战场。该州正在发生变化，多样化的人群正在为美国故事书写新的篇章。

Words in This Story

canvass⁶ - v.

universally -? adv. done or experienced by everyone

oath -? n. a formal and serious promise to tell the truth or to do something?

solemn -? adj. very serious or formal in manner, behavior, or expression?

bind¹⁰ -? v. to cause (people) to be joined together closely

resonate -? v. to have particular meaning or importance for someone?

diverse -? adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other?

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

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 canvass   

v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论

参考例句：

• Mr. Airey Neave volunteered to set up an organisation to canvass votes.艾雷·尼夫先生自告奋勇建立了一个拉票组织。
• I will canvass the floors before I start painting the walls.开始粉刷墙壁之前，我会详细检查地板。

7 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

8 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

9 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

10 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

11 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》