VOA标准英语2008年-Fred Thompson Quits US Presidential Race

By Jim Malone
Washington
22 January 2008

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee quit the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination¹ Tuesday after a series of disappointing finishes in the early nominating contests.  Thompson's withdrawal² comes as the remaining Republican contenders focus on Florida while the Democratic presidential hopefuls are preparing for Saturday's primary in South Carolina.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

Thompson issued a written statement withdrawing his candidacy and said he hoped the country and his party had benefited from his campaign.

He came in third in Saturday's Republican primary in South Carolina, capping a string of poor finishes in the early primary and caucus³ states.

Thompson entered the Republican race to great fanfare⁴ last year and for a time was near the top of the national polls.  But the former senator was never able to build political momentum⁵ for his candidacy, despite being well known as an actor on television and in the movies.

Thompson did not immediately endorse⁶ any of his Republican rivals, who are now focused on the Florida primary on January 29.  

Senator John McCain is riding high after his victory in the South Carolina primary, but he faces a potentially strong challenge from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has decided⁷ to wage an all-out campaign in Florida.

Giuliani questions McCain's commitment to conservative principles like cutting taxes.

"John McCain sided with the Democrats⁸ and voted against the Bush tax cuts," he said.

Giuliani led the Republican race in national polls for much of last year.  But he did not seriously compete in the early primaries and caucuses⁹ this year, gambling¹⁰ that he could restart his campaign in Florida.

But McCain's recent victories in South Carolina and New Hampshire have helped him in the national polls and in some states like New York where Giuliani was thought to be almost unbeatable a few months ago.

"We are now running 10 to 15 points ahead of him in his home state, so I understand," he noted¹¹.

Former governors Mitt¹² Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas are also in contention¹³ in Florida.

Meanwhile, in the Democratic race, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are getting more aggressive with each other in the battle for the party's presidential nomination.

OBAMA:  "Wait, no, Hillary, you just spoke¹⁴."

CLINTON:  "I did not say anything about Ronald Reagan."

The latest debate in South Carolina was the most contentious¹⁵ exchange yet among the top Democratic contenders, including Clinton, Obama and former senator John Edwards.

"Are there three people in this debate, not two?  This kind of squabbling, how many children is this going to get health care?" he asked.

Obama is counting on strong African-American support in Saturday's South Carolina primary to regain¹⁶ some momentum after Clinton victories in Nevada and New Hampshire.  He is ahead in the latest polls in South Carolina.

Obama is returning fire at both Hillary and Bill Clinton for questioning his opposition¹⁷ to the war in Iraq.

"President Clinton says that I was not opposed to the war from the start, or says it is a fairy tale that I opposed the war, that is simply not true," he said.

Hillary Clinton is trying to stay competitive in South Carolina, but is already looking ahead to the February 5 contests when more than 20 states hold presidential primaries or caucuses.

Clinton contends Obama has a pattern of avoiding difficult issues, beginning with his record as a state senator in Illinois.

"It is very difficult having a straight-up debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote, and that has been a pattern," she said.

The state-by-state selection process for the party nominees¹⁸ will be finished by early June and the party candidates will be officially nominated at the national conventions in late August and early September.

The U.S. presidential election will held on November 4.

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 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

7 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。

8 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》

9 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

10 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 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。

13 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

16 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。

17 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。

18 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网