VOA标准英语2008年-Obama to Wrap Up Democratic Convention With Muc

Democrats² are wrapping up the fourth and final day of their National Convention in the western U.S. city of Denver, Colorado, with a much anticipated speech by their nominee³, Senator Barack Obama. Obama made a surprise appearance at the convention Wednesday after his vice⁴ presidential candidate, Senator Joseph Biden gave his acceptance speech. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story from Denver.
　

Sen. Barack Obama looks at venue5 at Invesco Field at Mile High, 27 Aug 2008, where he will accept Democratic nomination6 for president

Senator Barack Obama surprised his running mate and many others when he showed up on stage one day ahead of schedule. The 47-year-old explained why Democrats are moving the entire mammoth⁷ convention for the last day from an indoor venue in Denver to a nearby outdoor sports stadium.

"So we want to open up this convention to make sure that everybody who wants to come can join in the party and join in the effort to take America back," Obama said.

Thursday's events will feature elements of a rock concert and a big party, including performances by Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow and will.i.am. There will also be a tribute to the slain⁸ civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, and former Vice President Al Gore⁹ will speak.

But the main focus of the evening will be on Barack Obama's speech. Political analyst¹⁰ Larry Sabato says presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain has put Obama in a difficult position with his negative television ads depicting¹¹ the Democrat¹ as a media celebrity¹² like many others. The ads flash images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton alongside Obama speaking to adoring crowds in Berlin.

"McCain has put Obama in a box," noted¹³ Sabato. "On the one hand Obama is expected to give one of the best speeches in American history, so expectations are enormously high. There will be 75,000 people, an unprecedented¹⁴ number in attendance, cheering him on. But because of the attacks on Obama as 'just another celebrity', if it looks too much like a rock concert, Obama could actually be penalized¹⁵ for doing well. He could also be penalized if the speech does not meet the skyrocketing expectations for another Gettysburg address." [The famous speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during America's Civil War.]

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg agrees that Obama does not have an easy task ahead of him as he reintroduces himself to the nation.

"Well he probably cannot do what he really would like to do, which is make people comfortable about him, about his foreign policy experience, about the direction of change that he wants to bring, and I think that will take time," Rothenberg said. "What he realistically can do is impress people. Remind them, those who do not know him, how articulate he is, how sharp is, what a great motivator he is, and generally get good reviews."
　

Sen. Barack Obama, (r), and Democratic VP candidate, Sen. Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, 27 Aug 2008

Wednesday was veteran Senator Joseph Biden's time in the spotlight¹⁶, and he gave an emotional acceptance speech for the vice presidential nomination. The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee said on several major foreign policy decisions, Senator Obama was right and his opponent Senator McCain was wrong. He sought to link McCain to Bush administration policies.

"I have been on the ground in Georgia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and I can tell you in no uncertain terms, this administration's policy has been an abysmal¹⁷ failure. America cannot afford four more years of this failure," Biden said.

Also speaking Wednesday, former U.S. President Bill Clinton repeated over and over that Senator Obama is ready to be president. While supporting his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton in her quest for the candidacy, Mr. Clinton spent months on the campaign trail questioning Obama's qualifications.
　

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the crowd during the Democratic National Convention, 27 Aug 2008

"Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States," Clinton said.

Voters are watching to see what kind of speech Obama gives, and then attention will shift back to the Republicans. Senator McCain is expected to announce his vice presidential pick soon and the Republican National Convention begins next week in Minnesota.

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 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》

3 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。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

6 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。

7 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

8 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

9 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

10 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。

11 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

12 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

13 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。

14 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

15 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

16 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

17 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。