VOA慢速英語:US Election Results May Help Predict Future Voting

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

這里是美國之音慢速英語新聞報道。

Two American states elected governors this week, while several big cities chose mayors. The elections were the first since the troubled launch of the new federal health-care website and the 16-day partial shutdown of the government. Conservative Republicans in Congress, including Tea Party members, supported the shutdown as part of their opposition to the program known as Obamacare.

本周，美國有兩個州選出了州長，與此同時幾個大城市選出了市長。這幾次選舉是新聯(lián)邦醫(yī)保網(wǎng)站糟糕上線和為期16天的政府部分停擺之后的第一次。國會中的保守派共和黨人，包括茶黨成員支持政府停擺以此作為反對所謂奧巴馬醫(yī)保項目的措施之一。

Political experts looked at the governors' races for clues to how Americans may vote in congressional elections next year. Voters will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the 100 senators.

政治專家們觀察了這兩場州長競選，尋找明年國會選舉中美國人會如何投票的線索。屆時，選民將選出所有435名眾議員和占據(jù)三分之一比例的100名參議員。

Observers think the government shutdown helped Democrat Terry McAuliffe win the governor's race in Virginia. Many federal workers live there and federal spending is important to the state economy.

觀察人士們認為，政府停擺幫助民主黨人特里·麥考利夫(Terry McAuliffe)贏得了弗吉尼亞州的州長競選。許多聯(lián)邦工作人員住在那里，聯(lián)邦支出對該州經(jīng)濟非常重要。

Mr. McAuliffe defeated Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican with strong Tea Party ties. Mr. Cuccinelli stayed close in the race by attacking President Barack Obama and the health care law.

麥考利夫先生打敗了和茶黨有著密切關(guān)系的共和黨人肯·庫奇內(nèi)利(Ken Cuccinelli)。庫奇內(nèi)利先生通過攻擊奧巴馬總統(tǒng)及醫(yī)保法在競選中緊緊尾隨。

"Virginia understands that Obamacare is a failure and that you want to be in charge of your health care, and not the government."

庫奇內(nèi)利說，“弗吉尼亞州知道奧巴馬醫(yī)保是一個失敗，我的醫(yī)保我做主，而不是政府做主。”

But voters chose Mr. McAuliffe in his second try for public office.

但選民選擇麥考利夫先生再次當(dāng)選。

"Just think about what Virginia has been able to accomplish when we work together."

麥考利夫說，“試想一下當(dāng)我們共同努力時，看看弗吉尼亞州能實現(xiàn)什么。”

The newly elected governor has close ties to former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

這位新任州長和前總統(tǒng)比爾·克林頓以及前國務(wù)卿希拉里·克林頓關(guān)系密切。

In the other governor's race, voters in New Jersey re-elected Republican Chris Christie. He won 60 percent of the vote with the support of many Democrats.

在另一場州長競選中，新澤西州選民再次選舉了共和黨人克里斯·克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)。他在許多民主黨人的支持下，贏得了60%的選票。

"Leadership is much less about talking than it is about listening. About bringing people around the table, listening to each other, showing them respect."

克里斯蒂表示，“領(lǐng)導(dǎo)要多聽少說，要把人們拉倒談判桌前，互相傾聽并尊重他們。”

Mr. Christie received much praise for his leadership after Superstorm Sandy hit the state a year ago. Many people see him as a possible 2016 candidate for president.

在桑迪颶風(fēng)襲擊新澤西州一年之后，克里斯蒂先生的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)廣受贊譽。許多人視其為2016年可能的總統(tǒng)候選人。

Tad Devine, an adviser to Democrats, says Governor Christie's re-election offers an important lesson.

民主黨顧問泰德·迪瓦恩(Tad Devine)表示，克里斯蒂州長的連任給出一個重要的教訓(xùn)。

"He has been able to take a very Democratic state – Obama won New Jersey by 17 points in the last two elections – and become a governor who could not only win a close election as he did the first time, but win a landslide election."

迪瓦恩表示，“他搶占了一個非常民主黨的州并成為州長，他不但在首次州長競選中贏得了一場勢均力敵的選舉，還在這次選舉中獲得壓倒性勝利。要知道，在最近的兩次(總統(tǒng))選舉中，奧巴馬可是以17個百分比的優(yōu)勢贏得了新澤西州的選舉。” 51VOA注：新澤西州是民主黨的傳統(tǒng)票倉，一直支持民主黨，但最近兩次州長選舉都讓共和黨人克里斯蒂獲勝。

Ford O'Connell is a Republican strategist. He says Tea Party Republicans need to learn from the winning candidates.

福特·奧康內(nèi)爾(Ford O'Connell)是一位共和黨戰(zhàn)略家。他說，茶黨共和黨人需要學(xué)學(xué)這位獲勝的候選人。

"Well, it leaves the Tea Party really in an echo chamber, just talking to the base. The real problem for the Tea Party is how do they expand their appeal beyond the Republican base."

奧康內(nèi)爾表示，“它讓茶黨反思選民基礎(chǔ)。茶黨的真正問題是如何在共和黨人基礎(chǔ)之外擴大自己的吸引力。”

Some people predict a battle for the heart and soul of the party. Will the Republicans move toward the conservatism of the Tea Party movement or away from it? Ford O'Connell is not sure.

有人預(yù)測該黨會經(jīng)歷一場內(nèi)心與靈魂的爭斗。共和黨人會更走近茶黨運動的保守主義，還是遠離它?奧康內(nèi)爾也不確定。

"Depending on how this battle turns out, it could lead to more dysfunction and government shutdowns. And that's something that people all over the world have an eye on because America is still the most robust economy in the world."

奧康內(nèi)爾表示，“這取決于那場爭斗如何結(jié)束，它可能會引發(fā)更多的機能障礙和政府停擺。這也是全球所關(guān)注的，因為美國仍然是世界上最強大的經(jīng)濟體。”

In New York City, voters on Tuesday elected Bill de Blasio as mayor. His election put the city under Democratic Party control for the first time in 20 years. He replaces Michael Bloomberg. Voters in other cities, including Atlanta, Boston and Miami, also elected mayors.

紐約選民周二選舉白思豪(Bill de Blasio)當(dāng)選市長。他的當(dāng)選將該市20年來首次置于民主黨的控制之下。他將接替邁克爾·布隆伯格(Michael Bloomberg)的位置。其它城市的選民，包括亞特蘭大，波士頓和邁阿密，也都選出了市長。