VOA标准英语2008年-US Presidential Candidates Address Hispanic Con

The focus of the U.S. presidential race turned to America's large and growing Hispanic population Tuesday, with both major party candidates addressing a national gathering¹ of Hispanic leaders. VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.

Hispanics are America's largest minority group, accounting² for about 15 percent of the U.S. population. Although many Hispanics do not vote, either because they lack citizenship³ or are not of legal voting age, they represent a critical voting bloc⁴ in many states that could decide the November election.
　
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, makes remarks at the 79th Annual League of United Latin American Citizens Convention, in Washington, 08 Jul 2008

The presumed Republican presidential nominee⁵, Senator John McCain, addressed the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington Tuesday. He said all Americans, including Hispanics, will benefit from his economic plan to keep taxes low.

"There are two million Latino-owned businesses in America. The first consideration we should have when debating tax policy is how we can help those companies grow and increase the prosperity of the millions of American families whose economic security depends on their success. It is a terrible mistake to raise taxes during an economic downturn," he said.
　
Senator Barack Obama addesses Latin American League, 8 Jul 2008

Later in the day, McCain's Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, told the group this year's election is about giving all Americans a fair chance at the American dream. "We have to make sure that we have a government that knows that a problem facing any American is a problem facing all Americans," he said.

Obama has said he wants to reduce taxes for middle-income earners. But he has pledged to repeal⁶ many of the tax cuts enacted⁷ by President Bush. Obama says those cuts favor the wealthy.

Historically, as a group, Hispanics have tended to vote Democratic, sometimes by as much as a two-to-one ratio. But President Bush made significant inroads among Hispanics in his successful presidential bids. He won more than 40-percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004.

Today polls show a significant drop in Hispanic backing for the Republican Party. Many analysts⁸ blame this on the hard-line stance of many prominent Republicans on fighting illegal immigration.

But Senator McCain is a longtime backer of comprehensive immigration reform that would provide a legal path to citizenship for many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. Obama has taken a similar position.

In his speech, McCain noted⁹ that Congress has yet to pass such reform, but said the cause is not lost. He said immigrants have greatly contributed to America's prosperity and national character, and will continue to do so. "I know this country, which I love more than almost anything, would be the poorer were we deprived of patriotism¹⁰, industry, and decency¹¹ of those millions of Americans whose families came here from other countries in our hemisphere. I will honor their contributions to America for as long as I live," he said.

Obama accused McCain of backing away from comprehensive immigration reform during the primary election season. "But when he started running for his party's nomination¹², he abandoned his courageous¹³ stands, and said that he would not even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote. Well, for eight long years we have had a president who has made all kinds of promises to Latinos on the campaign trail, but failed to live up to them in the White House, and we cannot afford that anymore," he said.

In the Democratic presidential primary contests, Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama's rival, Senator Hillary Clinton. But a recent poll shows Hispanics favor Obama over McCain 59 to 29 percent.

 

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

6 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

7 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 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。

9 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。

10 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

11 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

12 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。

13 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。