VOA慢速英语:In US Race, All Eyes on South Carolina

The race for the Republican presidential nomination moved this week to the southeastern United States. Florida, the state with the fourth largest population, will hold its Republican primary election on January thirty-first. But first comes the South Carolina primary next Saturday.
共和党总统候选人提名竞赛本周将移至美国东南部。佛罗里达州，美国第四大人口州，将于1月31日举行共和党初选。但是，首选进行的是下周六的南卡罗来纳州的初选。

The results could show whether anyone has a serious chance to keep Mitt Romney from becoming the Republican candidate for president. Mr. Romney is the first Republican in more than thirty years to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in a competitive race.
选举结果可能会表明，是否有人会有机会阻止罗姆尼成为共和党总统候选人。罗姆尼是三十多年来在激烈的竞争中首位同时赢得艾奥瓦州预选和新罕布什尔州初选的候选人。

On Tuesday, he won nearly forty percent of the vote in New Hampshire. He owns a house there and was the governor of a neighboring state, Massachusetts. In his victory speech, he called on South Carolina voters to help make him the candidate to defeat President Obama.
周二，他在新罕布什尔州赢得了近40%的选票。他在该州拥有一间房子，并曾是邻近州马萨诸塞州的州长。在他的胜利演说中，他呼吁南卡罗来纳州选民帮助他成为打败奥巴马的候选人。

MITT ROMNEY: "And tonight, we're asking the good people of South Carolina to join the citizens of New Hampshire and make two thousand twelve the year he runs out of time."
罗姆尼：“而今晚，我们请求南卡罗来纳州善良的人们加入新罕布什尔州市民的行列，让2012年成为他下台之时。”
 

Mr. Romney has the support of South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley. She is a favorite among supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement.
罗姆尼先生拥有南卡罗来纳州州长Nicki Haley的支持。她是保守派茶党运动支持者最喜爱的人。

Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished second in New Hampshire. That state's official motto is "Live free or die." He won support with his strong belief in individual freedoms and a pullback of American troops from around the world.
在新罕布什尔州，德克萨斯州众议员Ron Paul名列第二。该州官方座右铭是“不自由，毋宁死”。他对个人自由和美国军队从全球撤回的坚定信念赢得了支持。

RON PAUL: "We've had enough of sending our kids and our money around the world, to be the policeman of the world. It's time to bring them home."
RON PAUL：“我们受够了向世界各地派遣我们军队和派送金钱，受够了当世界警察。是时候让他们回家了。”

Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, finished third.
前犹他州州长和驻中国大使洪博培名列第三。

JON HUNTSMAN: "I'd say third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentleman!"
洪博培：“女士们，先生们！我不得不说，第三名这个位置是参加竞选的前提。”

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum each got just under ten percent of the vote. Mr. Santorum calls himself the "true conservative." He finished eight votes behind Mr. Romney last week in Iowa.
前众议院议长Newt Gingrich和前宾夕法尼亚州参议员Rick Santorum各获得10%以下的选票。桑托勒姆自称是“真正的保守派”。上周在爱荷华州的预选中他只落后罗姆尼8票。

Texas Governor Rick Perry gave little attention to New Hampshire, but has been spending a lot of time in South Carolina. Other candidates were also visiting that state even before the primary in New Hampshire.
德克萨斯州州长Rick Perry很少关注了新罕布什尔州，但在南卡罗来纳州已经投入了大量精力。其他候选人也都甚至在新罕布什尔州初选前就造访南卡罗来纳州。

Chris Gladieri is a political scientist at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. He explains why South Carolina is so important.
Chris Gladieri是新罕布什尔州圣安瑟伦学院一名政治学家。他解释了南卡罗来纳州为何如此重要。

CHRIS GALDIERI: "To the extent that folks like Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman were focusing all their attention on really early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, that was time and money and effort that they weren't putting into South Carolina.  So, everyone else who is not Romney is going to be playing catch-up."
CHRIS GALDIERI：“从桑托勒姆和洪博培这些人全力投入到爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州这些前期的州这个意义上来说，他们没有把时间、金钱和精力投入到南卡罗来纳州。所以到了南卡罗来纳州，每个罗姆尼以外的人都将奋起直追。”

Primary elections will continue across the country. The general election is in November.
初选将在全国各地继续进行。换届选举将于11月举行。

At around the same time, the top leaders of China are all expected to retire following a Communist Party Congress. Political considerations could test the complex relationship between China and the United States in twenty-twelve.
大约在同一时间，中国最高领导人都有望于中国共产党全国代表大会之后退休。2012年，政治上的考虑可能会考验中美两国之间的复杂关系。

China now has the world's second largest economy. Its trade policies and military spending have been issues of concern for the United States.
中国现在是全球第二大经济体。其贸易政策和军费开支已经成为美国关注的问题。

One test of the relationship could come from Taiwan’s presidential election on Saturday. China considers the island its territory and has threatened to use force if Taiwan declares independence. China held military exercises around the island before elections in nineteen ninety-six. To help defend Taiwan, President Bill Clinton sent two aircraft carriers to the area.
对中美关系的一次考验可能来自本周六台湾地区领导人选举。中国视台湾岛为其领土，并威胁如果台湾宣布独立将使用武力。1996年选举前，中国在台湾岛周围举行了军事演习。克林顿总统曾派两艘航母到该地区协防台湾。

This time, the Chinese government has avoided public comments. Alexander Huang is a professor of strategy at Taiwan's Tamkang University. He thinks the United States and China are seeking to avoid tensions.
这一次，中国政府一直回避公众意见。Alexander Huang是台湾淡江大学战略学教授。他认为，美国和中国正寻求避免紧张局势。

ALEXANDER HUANG: "Both China and the United States would like to see the continuity of stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait, because both China and the United States will have a very busy political agenda this year."
ALEXANDER HUANG：“中国和美国都希望看到海峡两岸和平稳定的延续。因为中国和美国今年都有一个非常繁忙的政治议程。”