VOA标准英语2011--Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachman

Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann wins Iowa Straw Poll

Fourteen months before voters in the United States will choose a President in the general election, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, originally from Iowa, won a crucial early test of her popularity among Republicans. She placed first in the Iowa Straw Poll, a non-binding poll that does not officially influence the primary elections. Texas Congressman¹ Ron Paul finished a close second.
Bachmann spent a significant amount of time and money crisscrossing the state of Iowa in the weeks leading up to the August 13 Iowa Straw Poll. That effort paid off for her, as she defeated front-runner, former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt² Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Bachmann told the crowds that came to hear her speak: “You can always trust the judgment³ of an Iowan - you don’t spend money you don’t have!”
Speaking before enthusiastic supporters in the state of her birth, Bachmann restated a theme that resonated with voters on the campaign trail:
“For two months, I have been leading the charge in Washington against raising the debt ceiling. For a long period of time, I was the lone⁴ voice crying in the wilderness⁵ of Washington. Now Standard and Poors agrees with me… this wasn’t such a good idea.”
Just under seventeen thousand voters took part in the Straw Poll, open to all residents of Iowa who paid for a ticket. In the final tally⁶, Bachmann, with 4,832 votes, narrowly defeated Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who came in second with 4,671 votes.
For Jeff Olsen, a teacher originally from Austin, Texas now living in Fort Dodge⁷, Iowa, Bachmann’s win was no surprise: "It’s very understandable why she won. Being able to speak in those enthusiastic ten second soundbites. Being able to pretty much describe the problems that many Americans are facing in the attention span of less than ten seconds is going to curry⁸ favor.”
As voters filtered into the Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State University to cast their ballots¹⁰, news spread that Texas Governor Rick Perry was officially entering the race for the Republican nomination¹¹ for President. His candidacy gives Olsen, originally from Texas, another choice when it comes time to vote in the Iowa Caucuses¹³ in early 2012. Olson said of Perry: “I think its another conservative voice. I think it’s another experienced politician. I think that had he put forth¹⁴ the organization and energy into an Iowa Straw Poll that a Bachmann or Ron Paul had, I think he would have been in the top two with them.”
Nate Crain, the national finance chairman for the Americans for Rick Perry political action committee says Perry’s absence from the Straw Poll won’t affect his standing¹⁵ with Iowa voters. Considering he did not campaign in Iowa, Perry finished with a respectable 718 write-in votes in the poll. Crain says Perry’s visit to Iowa after the Straw poll will be the first of many in the coming months: “He’ll do a lot of campaigning. He’ll want to reach out to Iowa voters because he’ll be participating in the Iowa caucus¹², and Iowa is obviously is the first state to vote, and he’ll reach out to Iowans just like everyone else does.”
Teacher Jeff Olsen is considering throwing his support behind Perry after the candidate he voted for finished poorly in the Straw Poll.
“I decided¹⁶ to vote for Newt Gingrich just because I think the most important issue facing America right now is to have a President who has a track record of balancing a budget, balancing a federal budget, and he certainly accomplished¹⁷ that as Speaker. Obviously I was in the minority.”
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich finished eighth with 385 votes. He did not campaign in Iowa as extensively as other candidates, and says his focus is on the Iowa Caucuses: “Our goal has been January, and frankly¹⁸ we are moving forward for January. We have some very strong people who are helping¹⁹ us, and we think that is going to dramatically broaden in September.”
With Perry’s candidacy, the political playing field for the Republican party is more crowded. In the coming days and weeks, candidates will compete for staff and money to continue their campaigns. Those who finished at the bottom of the Straw Poll could find themselves out of the picture before voters have a chance to cast the first ballot⁹.

1 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。

2 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。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 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。

7 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

8 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 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。

13 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

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 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。

17 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

18 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

19 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。