美国中期选举将于下周二举行

    This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语时事新闻。

    Americans will vote in elections on Tuesday. They will elect all four hundred thirty-five members of the United States House of Representatives, thirty-seven senators, many state governors and local officials. Political experts say all signs point to major gains by Republican Party candidates in both houses of Congress. The Republicans are hoping to win back control of Congress, which they lost to the Democrats in two thousand six.
    周二,美国人将进行中期选举投票。他们将选出美国众议院全部435名成员,以及37名参议员,大部分州长和地方政府官员。政治专家称,所有迹象表明,共和党派候选人将在国会参、众两院取得较大优势。共和党希望重新夺回2006年输给民主党的国会控制权。

    President Obama does not stand for re-election until two thousand twelve. But many of his programs may be in trouble if Republicans retake control of the House and make gains in the Senate.
    直到2012年,奥巴马才开始总统连任选举。但是,如果共和党重新控制众议院并在参议院赢得较大优势,奥巴马的很多执政计划可能会遇到麻烦。

    President Obama has been urging Democrats across the country to support their party's candidates in the election. He also has defended the record of his administration's first two years in office. Former President Bill Clinton gave a similar message when he made campaign appearances for Democratic Party candidates. He said he believes President Obama and Congress have done a better job than most people think they have done.
    奥巴马一直敦促全国各地的民主党员在选举中支持本党派候选人。他还对其领导的政府头2年的执政成效进行了辩解。前总统克林顿在为民主党候选人竞选拉票时,也传达了类似的信息。他称,他相信奥巴马和国会的表现比大多人想象的更好。

    But Republican leaders say the political energy is on their side this year. Many political experts predict that Republicans will win back control of the House of Representatives, but will fall just short of winning a majority in the Senate.
    但共和党领导人称,今年的政治优势在他们这边。很多政治专家预测,共和党将重新夺回众议院控制权,但是将难以获得参议员的大多数席位。

    A new study found that support for President Obama and the Democrats has decreased among some important voting groups. These groups helped them win two years ago. They include women, independent voters and less wealthy Americans. CBS News and The New York Times newspaper reported their findings.
    一项新的调查发现,在一些重要的投票群体中,奥巴马和民主党的支持率下降。两年前这些群体曾帮助奥巴马和民主党获选。他们包括妇女,独立选民和不富裕的美国人。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网(CBS News)和纽约时报(The New York Times)发布了他们的这项调查结果。

    Experts say the public's poor opinion of the national economy, including high unemployment, is the main problem facing Democrats this year.
    专家表示,公众对国家经济的悲观,以及高失业率,是民主党今年面临的主要难题。

    Democrats have been seeking to increase voters' attention on individual Republican candidates they say are too extreme. Some of these candidates are supported by the conservative and libertarian Tea Party movement.
    民主党一直试图提升选民对他们所称的“过于极端”的共和党独立候选人的关注。这其中的一些候选人得到保守党和茶叶党的支持。

    This year, money in the form of campaign contributions appears to be having more of an influence than ever before. A Supreme Court ruling opened the way for more campaign spending on television advertising by businesses and labor unions. Many television advertisements are paid for by groups not connected with political parties and by wealthy donors who do not have to identify themselves. Many of these television commercials attack a candidate's opponent.
    今年,竞选筹款展现的影响力超乎以往。最高法庭的一项裁决为企业和工会在电视广告方面投入更多竞选费用开辟了道路。很多电视广告都是由非政治团体和不透露身份的富人捐款买单。这种电视广告大多是攻击候选人的竞争对手。

    The election campaigns have been some of the costliest ever. For example, Republican Meg Whitman has spent more than one hundred forty million dollars of her own money on her campaign. She is seeking to become governor of California against the state's former governor, Jerry Brown. Independent groups estimate that candidates, parties and independent groups will spend as much as four billion dollars by the time the voting has ended.
    这次竞选是有史以来花费最高的。例如,共和党梅格·惠特曼(Meg Whitman)已花费超过1.4亿美元的自有资金用于竞选。她试图击败前任州长杰瑞·布朗(Jerry Brown)当选为加州州长。独立团体预计,截止投票结束,候选人,党派和独立团体的总花费将高达40亿美元之多。