VOA常速英语2013--本周聚焦华盛顿 关注各州选举及同性恋权利

 

Washington Week Ahead: Focus on State Elections, Gay Rights 本周聚焦华盛顿 关注各州选举及同性恋权利

WASHINGTON — While the Obama administration continues to play defense¹ on the latest U.S. spying revelations and the technical failures of America’s newly implemented²  health care law, Washington is also focused on two state elections with national political implications.

Bordering Washington, Virginia picks a new governor Tuesday.

和华盛顿接壤的维吉尼亚州将在星期二选出新的州长。

Trailing in the polls is Republican candidate Ken³ Cuccinelli, a fierce critic of President Obama's signature health care law.

在民意调查中落后的是猛烈抨击奥巴马总统签署医疗法律的共和党候选人肯·库奇内力。

“Obamacare represents one of the largest and most reckless expansions of government in the more than 200-year history of our nation,” he said.

“奥巴马医改代表我们国家超过200年的历史中其中一个最大且最不计后果的政府。”他说道。

The rhetoric⁴ echoes that of Republican lawmakers whose dogged opposition⁵ to Obamacare helped provoke last month's partial U.S. government shutdown.

对于奥巴马医改的顽强反对从而引发上个月的部分美国政府关闭共和党议员的花言巧语声依然不绝于耳。

Some political observers would view a loss by Cuccinelli to Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe as a rebuke⁶ of the Republican Party as a whole -and a possible  indicator of trouble for the party in next year's mid-term congressional elections.

一些政治观察家表示库奇内力会失利于作为整体谴责共和党的民主党候选人特里·麦考利夫, 而且后者也是对于这个党派明年国会中期选举的一号麻烦人物。

Republican prospects⁷ are considerably⁸ brighter in New Jersey⁹, where Governor Chris Christie is expected to win reelection.

而在新泽西共和党的前景则是一片大好，州长克里斯·克里斯蒂有望赢得连任。

Christie has not shied from national issues, and recently commented on U.S. spying activities.

克里斯蒂一直没有回避国家问题,而且最近也对美国间谍活动发表了意见。

“I have always felt like these programs are necessary and important but they have to have appropriate oversight,” he said.

“我一直觉得这些项目非常必要而且极其重要,但必须有适当的监管,”他说道。

Christie's success in a traditionally Democratic-leaning state has drawn¹⁰ national attention-and speculation¹¹ he will run for president in 2016, a possibility the  governor is not ruling out.

在这样一个传统上倾向于民主党的州克里斯蒂的成功吸引了整个国家的眼球—有猜测称他将在2016年竞选总统,这位州长并没有被排除出大名单。

“We will see what happens,” Christie said.

“我们将拭目以待,”克里斯蒂说道。

Meanwhile, the issue of gay rights returns to Capitol Hill this week.

与此同时,同性恋者权利的问题本周再度成为国会山讨论的焦点。

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill to prevent employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation¹².

美国参议院将进行投票表决一项防止就业歧视性取向的法案。

The measure has the backing of majority Democrats¹³ as well as President Obama.

这项措施已经得到奥巴马总统及绝大多数民主党人的支持。

“We're making clear to every senator who may be on the fence or may not have expressed support for it that we strongly believe that a ‘yes' vote is the right vote on  this legislation,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

“我们已经对不管是持观望态度或者也许不会支持的每位参议员讲明的是我们坚信,一项全部赞成的投票才是表决这一立法的正确投票,”白宫发言人杰伊·卡尼说道。

Should it pass the Senate, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act's fate in the Republican-led House of Representatives is far from clear.

如果参议院通过, 在共和党领导的众议院反就业歧视法的命运仍然尚不明朗。

In many U.S. states, gay people currently have no legal recourse if they are fired on the basis of sexual orientation.

而在美国的许多州, 如果同性恋者因为性取向被解雇，他们目前没有法律追索权。

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

5 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。

6 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

13 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》