VOA常速英语2014--美国会中期选举 女性选民表示担忧

Women Voters Anxious Ahead of US Elections 美国会中期选举 女性选民表示担忧

CAPITOL HILL— 

With US elections just days away, public opinion polls show American voters are deeply dissatisfied with their government and anxious about threats from abroad. This is especially true for a key voting group both Republicans and Democrats 1 are trying hard to win over: women. Analysts 2 say if women are focused on national security, it could be bad news for Democrats, with majority control of the Senate at stake.

随着11月4号美国国会中期选举投票日临近，民调显示美国选民普遍对政府深感不满，也对国际上所面临的威胁忧心忡忡，值得关注的是，女性选民对这些问题更是忧虑。分析人士说，如果女性选民关注国家安全议题的话，对在参议院占多数的民主党来说将是个坏消息。

As Nicholas and Ibrahim run around in a playground in northern Virginia, their mothers, like many other women across the country, are concerned about economic and national security issues.

尼克拉斯和艾布拉罕在北维州的公园里无忧无虑的玩耍。但他们的母亲，就和其他美国女性一样，对经济和国家安全等议题深感担忧。

And both political parties know women in Tuesday's midterm elections will likely determine who controls the U.S. Senate and some governors' mansions 3.

美国主要两大政党知道，女性选民在11月4号的中期选举中扮演至关重要的角色，有可能决定谁将控制参议院和部分州长的职位。

Alabama visitor Nancy Capiello said she's not planning to vote.

来自阿拉巴马州的卡佩洛说，她计划放弃投票。

“[In] this day and age I feel like I should be more concerned with my immediate 4 family and unfortunately those other influences go by the wayside, because I feel like nobody’s doing anything to save us or protect us in any way,” said Capiello.

南西. 卡佩洛  阿拉巴马州居民说：“到了这个时候，这个年纪，我觉得我应该要更关心我身边的至亲家人。很不幸，其他问题都显得不重要，因为我觉得没有人真正在做事保护我们，照顾我们。”

Hawa Coulibaly of Virginia said she does plan to vote, and has been paying close attention.

维吉尼亚州的科莉贝里说，她会去投票，并一直在关注选战。

“I am concerned about what’s going on but I feel that our government has control of it. I feel like the government is doing the best that it can at this point,” said Coulibaly.

哈瓦.科莉贝里   维吉尼亚州居民哈瓦.科莉贝里说：   “我对时事很关心，我觉得我们政府已掌控局势，我认为在这个阶段政府已经尽力做好一切。”

These responses from the playground reflect what women are telling pollsters.

这些回应反映了女性选民在回答民调问题时的答案。

Margie Omero of the Purple Strategies public research firm in Virginia called the national mood “miserable.”

维吉尼亚州“紫色战略公共研究中心”的欧梅罗形容，这种心情是“很悲惨的”。

“People are feeling a little bit better economically, at least that hasn’t worsened, but you’ve seen economic anxiety replaced by worries about government dysfunction and international instability - ISIS or Ebola or international volatility 5, school violence, school shootings, crime,” said Omero.

欧梅罗 说：“一般人会感觉经济有好转，或至少没有继续恶化下去。但你看到的是对经济的不安被对政府失灵和国际局势不稳定的担忧所取代。这些因素包括了伊斯兰国、埃博拉或国际动乱、校园暴力、校园枪击和犯罪等。”

Neil Newhouse, a pollster with Public Opinion Strategies in Virginia, agreed and said this could be bad news for Democrats.

维吉尼亚州“公共意见战略中心”的民调人员纽尔豪斯对此表示同意，他还说，这对民主党来说是个坏消息。

“We’ve had now 114 straight months where Americans believe their country is headed in the wrong direction. This is the longest sustained period of pessimism 6 that we’ve seen for like 30 years in this country,” said Newhouse.

纽尔豪斯 说：“我们发现已经连续114个月美国民众认为国家现在正朝着错误的方向前进。这是美国民众过去30年来维持时间最久的悲观态度。”

Newhouse pointed 7 out that there has been a gender 8 gap in U.S. politics for decades.

纽尔豪斯说，好几十年来，美国政治一直存在性别差异。

“Men are significantly more Republican, women are more Democratic and you know, men vote more economic issues, women vote more personal security issues,” said Newhouse.

纽尔豪斯说：“男性主要偏向共和党，女性则倾向于民主党。男性通常以经济因素来决定投票，而女性则较关注个人安全议题。”

And even within the group of women voters, there is another divide, said Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution.

布鲁金斯学会的沙希尔说，即使都是女性选民，也出现分歧。

“Married women actually are more likely to vote Republican than Democratic, whereas unmarried women are much more likely to vote for the Democrats so there’s not just a gender divide that tends to favor the Democrats overall,” said Sawhill.

 沙希尔说：“已婚女性通常比较可能投给共和党，但未婚女性比较可能支持民主党，因此，并非单纯在性别差异上出现偏好民主党的情况。”

As Nancy and Hawa told VOA on the playground, many American women say they would like for Congress and the president to work together to address their concerns.

卡佩洛和科莉贝里告诉VOA，许多美国女性说他们希望美国国会和总统能够好好合作，解决他们的忧虑。