时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(十月)


英语课

Tallest Candidate Wins Majority of US Presidential Elections


 


When it comes to voter preference, a candidate’s positions on the issues count. But some may check a name on a ballot 1 for a more primal 2 reason: the candidate’s stature 3.



Researchers at Texas Tech University suggest that height affects voters’ preference in political leaders, possibly for instinctive 4 reasons going back to caveman days.



The findings were published in the journal Social Science Quarterly by political science professor Gregg Murray and graduate student David Schmitz.



"A near-universal fear of snakes and a preference for unhealthy fatty foods likely evolved from a time when snakes were a common threat and caloric intake 5 was uncertain,” Murray says. “We believe similar traits exist in politics."



The authors point to what’s called the "big man" tribal 6 leadership of many ancient societies, as well as the impact of physical strength on status in the animal kingdom. And they note that the taller candidate has won 58 percent of U.S. presidential elections between 1789 and 2008.









At 185 centimeters - 6'1" - Barack Obama was noticeably taller than his 173-centimeer (5'8") Republican opponent, John McCain, in 2008.




The authors asked 467 American and foreign-born college students to draw a figure that represented their concept of a "typical citizen" and an "ideal national leader" before being asked to draw both figures together. Sixty-four percent drew the leader taller than the citizen.



The researchers then asked the students to assess themselves as leaders and potential political candidates. The results revealed a statistically 7 significant association between height and the students’ self-assessment as leaders.



Researcher Schmitz writes that "culture and environment alone cannot explain how a preference for taller leaders is a near-universal trait we see in different cultures today, as well as in societies ranging from ancient Mayans, to pre-classical Greeks and even animals."



At 185 centimeters - 6'1" - Barack Obama was noticeably taller than his 173-centimeer (5'8") Republican opponent, John McCain, in 2008. But at least two of his potential opponents in 2012 - former governors Rick Perry and Mitt 8 Romney - are as tall, or a little taller, than the president.



n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票
  • 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。
adj.原始的;最重要的
  • Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
  • Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们,钱是主要的需要。
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材
  • He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
  • The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的
  • He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
  • Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。
n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口
  • Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
  • There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。
adj.部族的,种族的
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
ad.根据统计数据来看,从统计学的观点来看
  • The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大,所以统计数据更令人满意。
  • The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。
n.棒球手套,拳击手套,无指手套;vt.铐住,握手
  • 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。
学英语单词
alumina silica
an eager beaver
analytic models accuracy
automatic threading and rewinding
brief abstract
camouflage detection film
cancrinite
capital cost
capocchianoes
carboxymethylpachymaran
caryomitotic
centric position
cerebrology
cidoxepin
cinematizes
cobalmin
cognitology
control of manufacturing overhead
councils of vienne
Cusna, Mte.
customary law
dachas
dilute phase roasting
dipping form
drum reel
dyewater
ear holes
engenderest
ethyl cyanuramide
examination and recognition
experimental marine microbiology
fan effect
full-width fertilizer distributor
Gastopsin
general-purpose airplane
general-purpose microcontroller
glint in the milkman's eye
gloms
gnathology
go up like a rocket and come down like a stick
griselle
hexyl acetate
how't
Hymenopyramis cana
Iftar
Igorevskaya
Inula rhizocephaloides
jassims
kalember
least commitment principle
Malaya Pera
maximum royalties
meercats
micro-boredom
mock at
Muscoy
obsolete assets
one-point compactification
pathlength
permanent nuisance
phalsngeal process
piston type pressure gauge
polysaccharide-k
priority lien
progressive flooding
pterocaesio tile
pulse-modulated
rachischisis artialis
radio-acoustic method
roosveltite
rotation angle sensor
saccharephidrosis
Samanid
Sanford-Day car
saturated acyclic hydrocarbon
saturated vapour
savo(u)ry flavo(u)r
scandalmongering
screenage
second-largest
sedimentary basin
spectroheliometer
steeves
stern pamp trawler
syllogization
syn-hold
take the will for the deed
thanator
thaumaturgical
togcs
Trollius lilacinus
unbragging
us poet laureate
user system interaction
vacuum gear shift
vegetalbe
vena maxillaris inferior
Villasboas
whackings
wing top
wood chip carrier
would not