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VOA慢速英语2012--THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: George W. Bush Re-Elected

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THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: George W. Bush Re-Elected

 
STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.
This week in our series, we look at the presidential election of two thousand four.
(MUSIC)
GEORGE W. BUSH: “Freedom is on the march…”
HOWARD DEAN: “I speak not only for my candidacy, I speak for a new American century…”
JOHN KERRY: “America’s best days are ahead of us…”
JOHN EDWARDS: “Given a choice, the American people will stand where this president won’t.”
Every four years, American political parties nominate their candidates for president and vice1 president. In the summer of two thousand four, Republican Party delegates chose George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for a second four years in office.
(MUSIC)
During President Bush's first term, Islamic extremists attacked the United States. Almost three thousand people died in the September eleventh two thousand one attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. President Bush declared a war on terror and led the nation into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After the terrorist attacks, President Bush enjoyed record popularity. Public opinion studies showed that almost ninety percent of the American public approved of the way he was doing his job.
But the president’s public approval rating decreased over time. One research group found that his average approval rating for two thousand four had fallen to just fifty percent.
(MUSIC)
Before a presidential election, the main parties use primary elections and caucuses2 to chose delegates to a nominating meeting or convention. The person winning the most delegates usually gets the party’s presidential nomination3.
In two thousand three, ten people were seeking to become the Democratic candidate for president. Among them was John Kerry, a senator from the state of Massachusetts. Another was Howard Dean, a doctor and former governor of Vermont. There was John Edwards, a lawyer and first-term senator from North Carolina. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut also was seeking the nomination. In two thousand, Senator Lieberman had been the Democratic candidate for vice president.
Another senator and a former senator were also seeking the nomination. So were two members of the House of Representatives, a former general and a civil rights activist4.
Former Vice President Al Gore5 was not among the candidates. He had lost the disputed election of two thousand to George W. Bush. Mister Gore announced he would not be a candidate in two thousand four.
HOWARD DEAN: “I want my country back…”
Some political observers thought Howard Dean would win the Democratic nomination. The former governor actively6 opposed the war in Iraq.
HOWARD DEAN: “…where we’re all included. Thank you very much.”
He won praise for the way he raised money for his election campaign. Supporters gave him millions of dollars in small gifts through the Internet.
Then came the Iowa caucuses -- the first step in the nominating process, in January of two thousand four. John Kerry won with thirty-eight percent of the state's delegates. John Edwards finished second with thirty-two percent. Howard Dean was third with just eighteen percent.
Senator Kerry continued to win delegates and gain support in other states. Several candidates, including former Governor Dean, withdrew from the campaign. In early March, Senator Edwards also withdrew. He did so after Senator Kerry won victories in nine state caucuses and primary elections that were held on the same day.
The Massachusetts senator named John Edwards as his choice for vice president. Senator Kerry officially received the Democratic Party nomination for president at the party's convention in Boston.
JOHN KERRY: “I’m John Kerry, and I’m reporting for duty. We have it in our power to change the world, but only if we’re true to our ideals. And that starts by telling the truth to the American people. As president, that is my first pledge to you tonight. As president, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House.”
The combination of John Kerry and John Edwards balanced the Democratic ticket in several ways. Senator Kerry was considered a liberal. He came from the Northeast. Senator Edwards was considered more moderate. He came from the South. Kerry was Roman Catholic. Edwards was Protestant.
(MUSIC)
John Kerry was born in Colorado in nineteen forty-three. Like George W. Bush, he studied and graduated from Yale University. He then joined the United States Navy. He was wounded and won honors for his service in the Vietnam War. He criticized the war after leaving the military. John Kerry graduated from the Boston College law school in nineteen seventy-six. He became a lawyer for the state government in Massachusetts.
Then he served two years as lieutenant7 governor of the state. He was first elected to the Senate in nineteen eighty-four. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, led a family foundation that gives money to important causes.
(MUSIC)
Senator Kerry and President Bush debated three times on national television. They campaigned hard across the country. Foreign policy was the major issue during the campaign. Mister Bush centered his campaign on national security. He said he was the best candidate to keep America safe from terrorists. He said Americans could trust him to be strong against terrorism. He presented himself as a decisive leader. He said Senator Kerry had changed positions on issues and would be unsure in the face of danger.
In two thousand two, the Senator had voted to give President Bush the power to use force against Iraq. But Mister Kerry now criticized the way the Iraqi conflict was being fought. By autumn of two thousand four, more than one thousand Americans had died in Iraq since the war started in March, two thousand three. Thousands of Iraqi civilians8 also had been killed. Senator Kerry talked about the war in Iraq:
JOHN KERRY: “You’ve got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those parents, ‘I tried to do everything in my power to prevent the loss of your son and daughter.’ I don’t believe the United States did that. And we pushed our allies aside.”
Senator Kerry said his goal for the United States was "stronger at home, respected in the world." He believed that the United States had lost respect from many of its allies because of President Bush's foreign policy in Iraq.
The president defended American actions in Iraq. He said the war was needed to fight terrorism. He also expressed satisfaction that, because of the war effort, Iraqis were free of a cruel dictator.
In the United States, economic growth had slowed before George W. Bush became president. The economy got worse after the terrorist attacks in two thousand one. Mister Kerry said the economy should be expanding at a faster rate. And, he denounced the growth of the national debt under Bush’s leadership. The president praised his administration’s actions in difficult economic times.
GEORGE W. BUSH: “Six months prior to my arrival, the stock market started to go down. And it was one of the largest declines in our history. And then we had a recession and we got attacked, which cost us one million jobs. But we acted. I led the Congress. We passed tax relief. And now this economy is growing. We added one point nine million new jobs over the last thirteen months.”
(MUSIC)
President Bush suggested a plan for younger workers to place some of their pay in private retirement9 accounts. Senator Kerry opposed this idea. The president opposed most operations to end unwanted pregnancies10. The senator supported a woman’s right to have an abortion11. His position disagreed with that of the Roman Catholic church.
Early in the campaign, opponents of John Kerry’s candidacy formed a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Its leader was a military veteran who, like Mister Kerry, fought in the Vietnam War. The group argued that the senator was unfit to serve as president because of comments he made about his military service and his activism in the anti-Vietnam war movement.
SWIFTBOAT TV AD: “John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I and many of my comrades in North Vietnam in the prison camps took torture to avoid saying…”
The group even questioned the combat medals awarded to Mister Kerry.
Other Vietnam veterans, including several who had served with Kerry, denounced the charges against him as completely false. Some people believed the accusations12 and his campaign's delay in answering them had an important effect on the results of the election.
(MUSIC)
Americans voted on November second, two thousand four. As in the election of two thousand, there were questions about voting problems during and after the election. The vote was especially close in the state of Ohio. Kerry supporters reported problems with voting machines. They also said many people were illegally prevented from voting. The state had enough electoral votes to decide the winner of the presidential election.
But the day after the voting, Senator Kerry decided13 not to question President Bush's win in Ohio. The final results showed that Mister Bush won about fifty-one percent of the popular vote nationwide. Mister Kerry won about forty-eight percent.
George W. Bush would serve four more years as president of the United States.
Bush’s second term included a military surge in Iraq, a storm that devastated14 New Orleans, and a housing market that had many American homes underwater – financially - with shaky mortgages. That will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
You can find our series online with transcripts15, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at www.voanews.cn. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting16 you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
___
Contributing: Jerilyn Watson
This was program #238. For earlier programs, type "Making of a Nation" in quotation17 marks in the search box at the top of the page.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
2 caucuses d49ca95184fa2aef8e2ee3b613a6f7dd     
n.(政党决定政策或推举竞选人的)核心成员( caucus的名词复数 );决策干部;决策委员会;秘密会议
参考例句:
  • Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网
3 nomination BHMxw     
n.提名,任命,提名权
参考例句:
  • John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
  • Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。
4 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
5 gore gevzd     
n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶
参考例句:
  • The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
  • Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。
6 actively lzezni     
adv.积极地,勤奋地
参考例句:
  • During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
  • We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。
7 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
8 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
9 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
10 pregnancies 2fedeb45162c233ee9e28d81888a2d2c     
怀孕,妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象,战时人口正该补充。
  • She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。
11 abortion ZzjzxH     
n.流产,堕胎
参考例句:
  • She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
  • A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。
12 accusations 3e7158a2ffc2cb3d02e77822c38c959b     
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名
参考例句:
  • There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
  • He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
13 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
14 devastated eb3801a3063ef8b9664b1b4d1f6aaada     
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词);摧毁;毁灭;在感情上(精神上、财务上等)压垮adj.毁坏的;极为震惊的
参考例句:
  • The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
  • His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。
15 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句
16 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
17 quotation 7S6xV     
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情
参考例句:
  • He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
  • The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

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