VOA常速英语2007-US Republican Mitt Romney in Lead for Party's No

By Meredith Buel
Washington
22 October 2007

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹ Romney continues to lead other candidates for the Republican Party's presidential nomination² in the early contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire, although he trails some of the better-known contenders in national polls. Political analysts⁴ praise Romney's energetic campaign, but they say his changing positions on controversial issues and his Mormon faith may be serious obstacles to his quest for the White House. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has more on the Romney candidacy in this report from Washington.

On the surface, Willard Mitt Romney would seem to be the perfect candidate for president of the United States. He is telegenic, vigorous, and appears to relish⁵ meeting average Americans on the campaign trail.

Most political analysts see Romney as a polished politician and charismatic speaker. The 60-year-old candidate for the Republican presidential nomination was born into a political family, graduated from Harvard and is a former venture capitalist worth nearly $350 million.

In 2003, Romney was sworn in as the Republican governor of the heavily Democratic state of Massachusetts. His candidacy was given a boost after he successfully managed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which before his arrival was tarnished⁶ by a bribery⁷ scandal.

Romney's turnaround of the Olympics made him a popular national figure and helped set the stage for his successful run for governor and current campaign for president.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says Romney is a strong contender.

"He's the most energetic candidate," he says. "He has the toughest schedule. He seems to work the hardest. He wants it the most. That matters in nomination politics."

Romney was born in 1947 in Detroit. He is the son of George Romney, a former governor of Michigan and unsuccessful candidate for president.

Romney was raised in the Mormon Church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Mormon faith remains⁸ a mystery to many Americans. It is a faith that embraces American ideals of optimism, hard work and frugality⁹.

But it also requires a passion for evangelism and secret temple ceremonies like baptisms for the dead, a ritual in which a living person is baptized on behalf of a dead individual who was not a Mormon. The ritual is not practiced in modern mainstream¹⁰ Christianity.

Polls show 35 percent of Americans say they are less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate for president, and political analyst³ Larry Sabato says that is a big problem for Romney.

"The liberals oppose Mormons because they are very conservative in their philosophy," he says. "The conservatives oppose Mormons because the fundamentalist religions consider them a cult¹¹. So you can't win. You lose people coming and going. These two strange ships passing in the night could end up hurting Romney's candidacy considerably¹²."

Romney is a descendant of pioneer Mormons and is a passionate¹³ lay leader of the modern church. He spent more than two years as a missionary¹⁴ in Europe and says he does not believe his faith will harm his chances for election.

"I don't think people get into doctrines¹⁵ and, if you will, the periphery¹⁶ of a faith," he says. "My faith has made me a better person."

When Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he positioned himself as a moderate, favoring abortion¹⁷ rights, courting gay voters and supporting environmental groups.

However, as he prepared to run for president, Romney moved significantly to the right. He changed his positions dramatically, becoming an opponent of abortion and a critic of gay marriage. He adopted conservative stands on other social issues. Critics use the phrase "flip-flop" to describe Romney's revised views.

The candidate says his positions have evolved as he has moved through life.

"Not everything I believed 12 or 13 years ago is the same today," he says.

"I think Mitt Romney would like to get to that conservative sweet spot in the Republican Party," says John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in the study of presidential politics. "He would like to show himself to be the true conservative in this race."

On foreign policy, Romney supports the current U.S. troop surge in Iraq and has harshly criticized the leaders of Iran.

Although Romney never served in the military, he portrays¹⁸ himself as a strong supporter of American men and women in uniform.

"When it comes to strengthening our military, I want to add at least 100,000 additional troops and provide the equipment they need in the battlefield to be safe and give them the care they deserve when they come home," he says.

Romney frequently campaigns with his family, including his high school sweetheart and wife Ann, their five sons and 10 grandchildren. Nearly 100 members of the Romney clan¹⁹ showed up last August to help him campaign just before the Iowa Straw Poll, an informal test of a candidate's strength in the state.

Romney won the straw poll by a sizeable margin²⁰, although some other Republican candidates chose not to compete after the Romney campaign devoted²¹ substantial resources to the contest.

The campaign's focus is now on the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, with the hope that a good showing in those contests will propel Romney to the lead among Republican candidates for president.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

6 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

7 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 frugality   

n.节约，节俭

参考例句：

• We must build up our country with industry and frugality.我们必须勤俭建国。
• By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

11 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

12 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

13 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

14 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

15 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

17 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。

18 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

20 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

21 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。