VOA标准英语10月-Economy Remains Focus in Final Days of US Electio

The longest presidential election campaign in U.S. history is in its final week, and Democrat¹ Barack Obama continues to hold a lead in the polls over Republican John McCain. Both candidates are focused on the economy in the final days of the campaign, and on a small group of states that hold the key to victory on November 4. VOA national correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Senator Barack Obama leads Senator McCain by an average of seven points in the national polls. More importantly, Obama is seen as leading in the state-by-state electoral vote tally² that determines who will be the next president.
　

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain urges his supporters to "stand up and fight" at the conclusion of his campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 28 Oct 2008

But McCain remains³ undaunted by the long electoral odds⁴ in the final week of the campaign. He spoke⁵ to a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

"I have fought for you most of my life, and in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate," said McCain. "There are other ways to love this country, but I have never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high."

In the final days of the campaign, McCain is hammering Obama's tax proposals as a thinly disguised Democratic effort to redistribute wealth from rich to poor.

"There is nothing fair about driving our economy into the ground," he said. "We all suffer when that happens. And that is the problem with Senator Obama's approach to our economy. He is more interested in controlling wealth than creating it."
　

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, waves to supporters at a rally in the rain at Widener University Main Quad6 in Chester, Pennsylvania, 28 Oct 2008

Democrat Obama also campaigned in Pennsylvania in the rain at an outdoor rally near Philadelphia.

At each stop, Obama urges his supporters to get out and vote early if they can, warning against the complacency of enjoying a lead in the polls.

"And that is why in this last week that we cannot afford to slow down or to sit back or to let up, whether it is rain or sleet⁷ or snow," he said. "We are going to go out and we are going to vote because there is too much at stake!"

Obama was quick to fire back at McCain over taxes, predicting corporations and the wealthy would benefit under McCain's tax plan.

As Obama makes his final argument to voters this week, he emphasizes the themes of change and unity⁸. But Obama never misses an opportunity to try to tie Senator McCain to the economic record of the Bush administration.

"John McCain has ridden shotgun [offered protection] as George Bush has driven our economy towards a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas," he said. "They are trying to throw everything at me in these last seven days. But you know what? It is not going to work. Not this time. Not now. Because the fact that all of you are here today shows how badly you want change, shows how committed you are!"

Recent polls give Obama a lead in Pennsylvania of between eight and 13 points.

Political experts say McCain is likely to fare better in trying to win traditional Republican states that are surprisingly competitive this year, states like Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana.

In the final week of the campaign, Obama appears to have a huge edge over McCain in the areas of fundraising, television ads, and organization.

Stephen Hess is a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "Almost a flawless campaign in terms of raising money and having troops [staff and volunteers] on the ground in a sense, he is just overwhelming his opposition," he said.

Both candidates are focused on a relatively⁹ small handful of states that are competitive for both campaigns and hold the balance of votes needed for the winning candidate to accumulate the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the White House next Tuesday.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

3 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。

4 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

5 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。

6 quad   

n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅

参考例句：

• His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
• She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。

7 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。