VOA标准英语2012--In Close Race, Obama Battles for Second Term
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)
In Close Race, Obama Battles for Second Term
Four years ago, Obama was elected 44th president of the United States. The Democratic Party nominated him at a highly charged convention that focused on public disenchantment with the nation’s struggling economy. Obama capitalized on the issue with his motto, “Change We Can Believe In.”
The president has been in the White House now for nearly four years. The economy has improved, but not as much as many hoped. Some political experts say Obama has learned the vast difference between campaigning and governing.
Jennifer Lawless directs the Women & Politics Institute at American University.
“A lot of the promises he made were contingent 1 on the idea there would be some kind of bipartisan effort in Washington. And right after John Boehner was elected speaker of the House of Representatives, it became clear that the Republicans' number one goal was to make sure that was not going to happen,” said Lawless.
One example is the so-called Dream Act. It would have granted citizenship 2 to law-abiding immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. It was endorsed 3 by the president, but never made it out of Congress.
In June, Obama announced that the U.S. will temporarily stop deporting 4 the immigrants who qualified 5 under the Dream Act. Meanwhile, his administration has deported 6 more illegal immigrants than any president in history.
Obama kept his campaign promise to reform the nation’s health care system. While the resulting law has been highly controversial, the Supreme 7 Court upheld its major provisions.
He pushed for, and Congress approved, a $787-billion economic stimulus 8 package and then implemented 9 a bailout for American automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
On Obama’s watch, Osama bin 10 Laden 11, blamed for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, was located in Pakistan and killed in a surprise military operation.
The president withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq, increased the number of troops in Afghanistan and signed a new arms control treaty with Russia.
Obama is the first African-American to be elected president. He also is the first sitting president to support legalizing same-sex marriage.
As Obama faced his challenger, Republican Mitt 12 Romney, in their first debate, the president enjoyed a small but consistent lead in national public opinion polls. But the president performed poorly in that debate and Romney gained ground.
Obama has been directing his campaign message mostly to younger voters, women, minorities and the middle class. In recent weeks, the country's economy improved marginally,which could help the president.
In the final week of the campaign, Obama cancelled campaign appearances to direct the government’s response to Hurricane Sandy. The Republican governor of New Jersey 13, who had been a harsh critic, praised Obama for his role in the disaster.
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Vice 14 President Joe Biden again joins Obama on the Democratic ticket. Biden was a six-term U.S. senator and is considered a foreign policy expert.
- The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
- Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。
- 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。
- The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
- We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。
- They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
- He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
- Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
- Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。
- 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
- He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
- He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
- He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
- Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。
- 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。
- 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。