VOA常速英语2007-US Republican Presidential Hopefuls Court Social

By Jim Malone
Washington
19 October 2007

Republican Party contenders for the U.S. presidency¹ appealed for support Friday before a group of social conservative activists² meeting in Washington. We have more from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.

Social conservatives represent an important voting bloc³ in the party. They make up about a third of voters who take part in the Republican nominating caucuses⁴ and primaries that begin in January.

With that in mind, the Republican presidential hopefuls made their case for support before a gathering⁵ sponsored by the Family Research Council, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington.

Among them was Senator John McCain of Arizona. McCain has clashed with religious conservatives in the past but now emphasizes areas of agreement, including his opposition⁶ to abortion⁷. "I have been pro-life my entire public career. I believe I am the only major candidate in either party who can make that claim," he said.

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee also made a pitch for support, even as he acknowledged his differences with conservative activists in the past. "We have not always agreed on the precisely⁸ right approach to absolutely everything, but our goal has always been the same. And that is to leave this country better off than when we came into it, just like our ancestors have done generation after generation for us," he said.

The gathering provided an opportunity for some of the less well-known Republican contenders to make a direct appeal for conservative support.

As he does in his campaign appearances around the country, Colorado Congressman⁹ Tom Tancredo highlighted his opposition to illegal immigration. "When conservatives run on principles, we win. When we run away from principles, we lose," he said.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹⁰ Romney and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will also address the gathering.

Giuliani leads in national public opinion polls among Republican voters, even though he supports abortion rights.

Some social conservatives are threatening to run a third party candidate in next year's election if Giuliani becomes the Republican nominee¹¹. So far, Giuliani's rivals have not been able to rally broad support from religious conservatives to the disappointment of many Republicans.

"And they are depressed¹² that none of the four principle Republican candidates is really energizing¹³ the base, is really turning them on," said Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas had hoped his popularity with social conservatives would carry him to the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹⁴ next year. But Brownback has decided¹⁵ to abandon his White House bid after several months of disappointing showings both in the polls and in fundraising.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 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》

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 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。

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 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。

10 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

11 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。

12 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

13 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 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。