2007年VOA标准英语-Fred Thompson to Officially Join US Presidentia

By Jim Malone
Washington
31 August 2007

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee will officially enter the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹ next Thursday, ending months of anticipation² about a bid for the White House.  Thompson's entry into the race could have a major impact, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone in Washington.

Fred Thompson shakes hands with fairgoers at the Minnesota State Fair, 27 Aug 2007

Thompson spent months testing the waters for a presidential run.  His campaign says the official announcement will come on a video webcast on Thursday, followed by visits to the early presidential contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Thompson has been strongly hinting he will be a candidate in recent speeches around the country including this one in New Hampshire.

"We are the most prosperous nation in the world, the most powerful and we have brought more freedom to more people in the history of the world and been a beacon³ to all freedom seeking people around the world for a couple hundred years now, and we are going to stay that way," he said.  "We are going to stay strong as a nation and strong as a party."

Political experts say Thompson's candidacy is likely to have an immediate⁴ impact on the already crowded Republican presidential field.

"Fred Thompson seems to satisfy most conservatives in a way that the other candidates do not," said Larry Sabato a political scientist at the University of Virginia.  "Thompson also has a Reaganesque quality about him because of his connection to Hollywood, and Republicans always try to nominate Ronald Reagan, just like Democrats⁵ always try to nominate John F. Kennedy."

So far, social conservative voters seem split among several Republican contenders including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁶ Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Analyst⁷ John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington expects Thompson to make a strong bid for the support of social conservatives within the Republican Party.

"He is a southern senator.  Southern states are the base of the Republican Party.  He is somewhat conservative.  I will say it is a bit of mixed case if you look back to his time in the Senate.  He actually worked with John McCain a lot and was something of a maverick⁸, but overall is pretty conservative on a number of issues and he is well known and has a folksy, well-liked way [about him]," he explained.

Rudy Giuliani (file photo)

Thompson has done well in public opinion polls, often running in second place behind Giuliani in national surveys even though he was not officially in the race.

But Thompson's fundraising has been disappointing, something his rivals were quick to seize on.

Some experts argue that Thompson's delay in getting in the Republican race could help him, offering a fresh face at a time when no favorite has emerged for the party's presidential nomination.

"The Republicans have a problem.  They do not have an ideal candidate.  All their candidates have either flaws or question marks," said expert Stuart Rothenberg, who was a recent guest on VOA's Encounter program.

Thompson served as a senator in the 1990s, but is best known by the public for his acting⁹ roles in films and in the popular television show Law and Order.

1 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。

2 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

3 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

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 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。

7 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。

8 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。