VOA标准英语2008年-US Presidential Contenders Await Judgment in Io

By Jim Malone
Des Moines
03 January 2008

After more than a year of speeches, rallies and campaign promises, voters in the midwestern U.S. state of Iowa will have the first say Thursday in the 2008 race for the presidency¹. VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has a preview of the Iowa presidential caucuses² from the state capital of Des Moines.

There are tight races in both major political parties, and in the final hours before the Iowa caucuses begin, the candidates were out on the campaign trail urging their supporters to show up and vote.

Senator Barack Obama, one of the leading candidates in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination³, rallied supporters at a late night rally near Des Moines.

"Stand up for change we can believe in," he said. "That is why we are here. That is why I am running for President of the United States of America."

Obama is in a very tight three-way race in Iowa with fellow Democrats⁴ Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Edwards wound up a grueling 36-hour straight campaign swing with a plea for support focused on fighting corporate⁵ greed and expanding health care.

"It is time for us to fight back. It is time for us to stand up," he said. "It is time for us to show some backbone⁶ and courage, to stand in the footsteps of all those who came before us."

Edwards and Obama are hoping to overtake the longtime Democratic frontrunner, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

Like all the candidates, Clinton is focused now on making sure her supporters get out to the Iowa caucuses, small community meetings where voters will express their preferences for who should be the party's presidential candidate.

"I need you to go and stand for me for a night, and as your president, I will stand and fight for you and America," she said.

Other Democratic contenders include Senators Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Ohio Congressman⁷ Dennis Kucinich.

The race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination is also very tight in Iowa.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is hoping to complete a remarkable⁸ transformation⁹ from virtual unknown to Republican frontrunner. Huckabee's steady rise in the polls in recent weeks has been helped by support from social and religious conservatives, who make up a large portion of Republican voters in Iowa.

"If we win, it will be the most unbelievable political story in decades," he said. "You will tell your kids and grandkids, I helped make political history."

But recent polls suggest Huckabee's once formidable lead in Iowa may be slipping under a withering¹⁰ assault from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt¹¹ Romney.

Romney has seized on some misstatements by Huckabee on foreign policy and is touting¹² his own credentials¹³ as former businessman as well as governor.

"I think it is really essential to select somebody who has had the experience of leadership, who has run something," he said. "There are a lot of people who can talk well. But talking well is one thing, and actually knowing that you can get the job done is another."

Senator John McCain of Arizona, former Senator Fred Thompson and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are battling for third place in Iowa, and Congressman Ron Paul of Texas and Duncan Hunter of California will also be looking for Republican support.

After the Iowa vote, the 2008 campaign for the White House heads to the Northeastern state of New Hampshire, where the first presidential primary will be held next Tuesday. Although the candidates have been fighting hard to come out on top in Iowa and New Hampshire, victory in these early state contests is no guarantee they will go on to win the Republican or Democratic presidential nomination. That will only become clear after primaries are held in dozens of other states in the coming months.

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 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

3 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。

4 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》

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

7 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。

8 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

9 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

10 withering   

使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的

参考例句：

• She gave him a withering look. 她极其蔑视地看了他一眼。
• The grass is gradually dried-up and withering and pallen leaves. 草渐渐干枯、枯萎并落叶。

11 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。

12 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

13 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。