谁会是杰西·赫尔姆斯的继任者

Life After Jesse Helms

David Swan

 

When Americans go to the 1)polls late next year to elect a new Congress, a familiar and 2)controversial name will be off the 3)ballot. Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina will step down after a career that will have 4)spanned three decades.

"I would be 88 if I ran again in 2002 and was elected and lived to finish a sixth term," said Senator Helms. "And this, my family and I have decided¹ 5)unanimously that I should not do and ladies and gentlemen, I shall not."

With that, the conservative icon² announced his retirement³ and touched off a heated scramble⁴ among a pack of would-be 6)successors. Much of the attention is focused on Republican Elizabeth Dole⁵, a former secretary of Labor⁶ and Transportation and a native of North Carolina. Her husband, retired⁷ senator Bob Dole, told an interviewer he is "almost ready" to say she will run for the Senate."I think it's been 7)indicated she's going to change her registration⁸ in a couple of days, a few days, whatever, which would indicate she's seriously looking at it. She'll change her voter registration," he said.

Mrs. Dole has now done just that. She moved her registration from her husband's hometown in Kansas to her own hometown in North Carolina, in a first step toward a possible campaign. But if she runs she may face a crowd of 8)competitors. A former mayor of the state's largest city, Richard Vinroot, is already seeking the nomination⁹. Congressman¹⁰ Richard Burr is another 9)potential Republican candidate.

Mrs. Dole's rivals are likely to emphasize that while she grew up in North Carolina, she has not lived there in years. Her 2000 presidential bid never caught fire and ended even before any primary votes were cast. Still, many Republicans in North Carolina and Washington feel she is the party's best hope for 10)retaining the seat. University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato agrees. "Only if Mrs. Dole is the candidate will the Republicans have the upper hand," he said. "Otherwise that seat will be a complete toss-up. And in fact the Democrats¹¹ will be favored if the Republicans renominate defeated Senator Lauch Faircloth."

Mr. Faircloth, who served one term in the Senate and may be even more 11)conservative than Mr. Helms, says he may run again. On the Democratic side, North Carolina's Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall, is so far the only person in the race, though others may jump in.

Mr. Helms' 12)departure adds a new 13)dimension to what was already 14)shaping up as a 15)bruising election-year fight for control of the Senate. Democrats hope to add to their one-seat majority, while Republicans promise an all-out effort to 16)retake power.

Political analyst¹² Stuart Rothenberg says Mr. Helms' retirement might actually help the Republicans' prospects¹³ because his age and health problems would have made campaigning difficult. But at least at this early stage, Mr. Rothenberg says the 17)odds tend to favor the Democrats. "If I had to pick a number I'd think there's probably going to be very little change in the Senate and since the Democrats control the Senate right now they have a slight edge for controlling in the next Congress," he said.

No matter who wins Mr. Helms' seat, his conservative voice will be absent, especially on international affairs. Mr. Helms was perhaps the most influential¹⁴ person in Congress on foreign policy during the years he chaired the Foreign Relations Committee. But he lost that post when Democrats gained their majority. And even if Republicans regain¹⁵ control of the Senate, the next Foreign Relations chairman would almost certainly be more 18)moderate than Jesse Helms.

 

 

(1)      poll[ pEJl ]n.选举之投票, 民意测验v.投票, 获得选票

(2)      controversial[kRntrE5v:F(E)l]adj.争论的, 争议的

(3)      ballot[5bAlEt]n.选举票, 投票, 票数vi.投票

(4)      span[spAn]n.跨度, 跨距, 范围v.横越

(5)      unanimously全体一致地,无异议地

(6)      successor[sEk5sesE(r)]n.继承者, 接任者, 后续的事物

(7)      indicate[5IndIkeIt]vt.指出, 显示, 象征, 预示

(8)      competitor[kEm5petItE(r)]n.竞争者

(9)      potential[pE5tenF(E)l]adj.潜在的, 可能的n.潜能, 潜力, 电压

(10)      retain[rI5teIn]vt.保持, 保留

(11)      conservative[kEn5s:vEtIv]adj.保守的, 守旧的n.保守派

(12)      departure[dI5pB:tFE(r)]n.启程, 出发, 离开

(13)      dimension[dI5menF(E)n]n.尺寸, 尺度, 维(数)

(14)      shape up v.成形, 形成, 顺利发展

(15)      bruise[bru:z]n.瘀伤, 擦伤v.打伤, 撞伤

(16)      retake[ri:5teIk]vt.再取, 取回, 重摄n.取回

(17)      odds[Rdz]n.可能的机会, 成败的可能性,几率, 差别

(18)      moderate[5mRdErEt]adj.中等的, 适度的, 适中的v.缓和

 

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

5 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

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 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

9 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。

10 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。

11 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》

12 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

15 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。