双语新闻：美国总统竞选在冲刺时刻角逐激烈 Election Tuesday; US Presidential Race Still Close

03 November, 2012

离星期二的美国选举日还剩最后几天。在这决战时刻，美国总统奥巴马和他的竞争对手、前麻萨诸塞州州长罗姆尼在全国民调中出现旗鼓相当的对垒局面。

奥巴马总统在竞争激烈的摇摆州里微幅领先，这些州对奥巴马获得270张选举人票、赢得总统大选至关重要。

奥巴马和罗姆尼星期五都在关键州俄亥俄州做了停留。美国政府就在星期五发布了失业率升至7.9%的报告，虽然失业率上升0.1%，但美国增加了17万1000个工作，比预期要好。

两位总统竞选人对失业率数字做出不同的解读。奥巴马总统说，比起过去8个月以来的任何时候，公司在10月份雇佣了更多人员。与此同时，罗姆尼把失业率称作是“一个令人难过的提示，显示美国经济实际上处于停滞状态。”

U.S. President Barack Obama and his opponent, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are essentially tied in national polls as the presidential campaign enters its last days before Tuesday's election.

The president holds a slight edge in the political battleground states crucial to gaining the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

Both President Obama and Mr. Romney stopped Friday in the key state of Ohio on a day the government reported the jobless rate had risen a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent, but also added 171,000 jobs, beating expectations.

Each candidate had a different take on what the numbers meant. The president said companies in October hired more workers than at any other time in the last eight months. Mr. Romney called the jobless rate "a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill."