Passage Four (It Is Bush)

On the 36th day after they had voted, Americans finally learned Wednesday who would be their next president: Governor George W. Bush of Texas.

Vice¹ President Al Gore², his last realistic avenue for legal challenge closed by a U. S. Supreme³ Court decision late Tuesday, planned to end the contest formally in a televised evening speech of perhaps 10 minutes, advisers⁴ said.

They said that Senator Joseph Lieberman, his vice presidential running mate, would first make brief comments. The men would speak from a ceremonial chamber⁵ of the Old Executive office Building, to the west of the White House.

The dozens of political workers and lawyers who had helped lead Mr. Gore’s unprecedented⁶ fight to claw a come-from-behind electoral victory in the pivotal state of Florida were thanked Wednesday and asked to stand down.

“The vice president has directed the recount committee to suspend activities,” William Daley, the Gore campaign chairman, said in a written statement.

Mr. Gore authorized⁷ that statement after meeting with his wife, Tipper, and with top advisers including Mr. Daley.

He was expected to telephone Mr. Bush during the day. The Bush campaign kept a low profile and moved gingerly, as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate⁸ his next steps.

Yet, at the end of a trying and tumultuous process that had focused world attention on sleepless⁹ vote counters across Florida, and on courtrooms form Miami to Tallahassee to Atlanta to Washington the Texas governor was set to become the 43d U. S. president.

The news of Mr. Gore’s plans followed the longest and most rancorous dispute over a U. S. presidential election in more than a century, one certain to leave scars in a badly divided country.

It was a bitter ending for Mr. Gore, who had outpolled Mr. Bush nationwide by some 300000 votes, but, without Florida, fell short in the Electoral College by 271votes to 267—the narrowest Electoral College victory since the turbulent election of 1876.

Mr. Gore was said to be distressed¹⁰ by what he and many Democratic activists¹¹ felt was a partisan¹² decision from the nation’s highest court.

The 5-to –4 decision of the Supreme Court held, in essence, that while a vote recount in Florida could be conducted in legal and constitutional fashion, as Mr. Gore had sought, this could not be done by the Dec. 12 deadline for states to select their presidential electors.

James Baker¹³ 3rd, the former secretary of state who represented Mr. Bush in the Florida dispute, issued a short statement after the U. S. high court ruling, saying that the governor was “very pleased and gratified.”

Mr. Bush was planning a nationwide speech aimed at trying to begin to heal the country’s deep, aching and varied¹⁴ divisions. He then was expected to meet with congressional leaders, including Democrats¹⁵. Dick Cheney, Mr. Bush’s ruing¹⁶ mate, was meeting with congressmen Wednesday in Washington.

When Mr. Bush, who is 54, is sworn into office on Jan.20, he will be only the second son of  a president to follow his father to the White House, after John Adams and John Quincy Adams in the early 19th century.

Mr. Gore, in his speech, was expected to thank his supporters, defend his hive-week battle as an effort to ensure, as a matter of principle, that every vote be counted, and call for the nation to join behind the new president. He was described by an aide as “resolved and resigned.”

While some constitutional experts had said they believed states could present electors as late as Dec. 18, the U. S. high court made clear that it saw no such leeway.

The U.S. high court sent back “for revision” to the Florida court its order allowing recounts but made clear that for all practical purposes the election was over.

In its unsigned main opinion, the court declared, “The recount process, in its features here described, is inconsistent with the minimum procedures necessary to protect the fundamental right of each voter.”

That decision, by a court fractured along philosophical¹⁷ lines, left one liberal justice charging that the high court’s proceedings¹⁸ bore a political taint¹⁹.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in an angry dissent:” Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly²⁰ clear. It is the nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial²¹ guardian²² of the law.”

But at the end of five seemingly endless weeks, during which the physical, legal and constitutional machines of the U. S. election were pressed and sorely tested in ways unseen in more than a century, the system finally produced a result, and one most Americans appeared to be willing at lease provisionally to support.

The Bush team welcomed the news with an outward show of restraint and aplomb²³. The governor’s hopes had risen and fallen so many times since Election night, and the legal warriors²⁴ of each side suffered through so many dramatic reversals, that there was little energy left for celebration.

 

1.       The main idea of this passage is

[A]. Bush’s victory in presidential election bore a political taint.

[B]. The process of the American presidential election.

[C]. The Supreme Court plays a very important part in the presidential election.

[D]. Gore is distressed.

2.       What does the sentence “as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next step” mean

[A]. Bush hopes Gore to join his administration.

[B]. Bush hopes Gore to concede defeat and to support him.

[C]. Bush hopes Gore to congraduate him.

[D]. Bush hopes Gore go on fighting with him.

3.       Why couldn’t Mr. Gore win the presidential election after he outpolled Mr. Bush in the popular vote? Because

[A]. the American president is decided²⁵ by the supreme court’s decision.

[B]. people can’t directly elect their president.

[C]. the American president is elected by a slate²⁶ of presidential electors.

[D]. the people of each state support Mr. Bush.

4.       What was the result of the 5—4 decision of the supreme court?

[A]. It was in fact for the vote recount.

[B]. It had nothing to do with the presidential election.

[C]. It decided the fate of the winner.

[D]. It was in essence against the vote recount.

5.       What did the “turbulent election of 1876” imply?

[A]. The process of presidential election of 2000 was the same as that.

[B]. There were great similarities between the two presidential elections (2000 and 1876).

[C]. It was compared to presidential election of 2000.

[D]. It was given an example.

 

Vocabulary

1.        avenue                           通向成功/获取成功的途径/手段

2.        running mate                   竞选伙伴，如作为总统的竞选伙伴，获胜后为副总统

3.        pivotal                           重要的，枢纽的

4.        gingerly=carefully                  小心翼翼地

5.        tumultuous                        吵闹的，骚动的，激动的

6.        rancorous                         充满仇恨的

7.        elector                           总统选举团成员

8.        elector college                     美国选举总统的选举团

9.        leeway                           风压差，余地

10.    for all practical purpose              事实上，实际

11.    fracture                          断裂，折断

12.    taint                             污点，败坏，感染

13.    dissent                           不同意，异议

14.    provisionally                      暂时的，临时的

15.    aplomb                           镇静，沉着

16.    restraint                          抑制，克制，谨慎

 

难句译注

1.  stand down   退出竞争/竞选，辞职，推出法庭。这里指戈尔感谢这些竞争支持者后，就退出竞选。此短语的对立面是stand for 竞选。 Ex: to stand for parliament 竞选国会议员。

2.       The Bush campaign kept a low profile and moved gingerly, as if to leave space for Mr. Gore to contemplate his next steps.

[结构简析] profile 外形，轮廓，外观。Low profile 低姿态，不出头露面，不惹人注意。High profile 鲜明的姿态。

3.       recount committee  重新计算选票委员会。

4.       …one certain to leave scars is a badly divided country.

[结构简析] election 的同位语one (election) which was certain。  Leave scar 留下伤疤。

[参考译文] 人们可以肯定计算问题在这两派分裂的国家上留下伤疤。

5.       It was a bitter ending for Mr. Gore, who had outpolled Mr. Bush nationwide by some 300000 votes, but, without Florida, fell short in the Electoral College by 271votes to 267—the narrowest Electoral College victory since the turbulent election of 1876.

[结构简析] outpoll 得到的选票超过某人。Fall short (of) 缺少，不足，达不到。Electoral college 选举团票，指每一个州人民选出一群人组成选举团，由它们直接选举总统。

6.       The election of 1876

这是指1876年11月7日美国内战时少将，共和党人，俄亥俄州州长卢瑟福·海因斯，在总统选举结束后，认为自己输给民主党人，纽约州长萨缪尔·莱尔登而安息。可在第二天，因为涉嫌欺骗行为，有争议之州，如佛罗里达，路易斯安娜，南卡罗莱纳重新计票及诉讼。那一年选举结果争议持续了四个月的时间。国会因争议，不得不推迟总统就职时间。到第二年，1877年3月4日，总统就职最后期限的前两天，国会建立了一个两党联合选举委员会：包括八名共和党人和七名民主党人。最后该会把所有争议的选举人票都给了海因斯。结果以185票对莱尔登184张选举团票。海因斯多一票当选为美国第19任总统。2000年的美国总统选举与1876年的很相似。所以句内提及。

7.  James Baker 3rd     贝克曾任前共和党总统里根（Ronald Reagen）政府的内阁成员和白宫办公所主任。在小布什父亲的父亲George Bush任总统时又担任过国务卿（1989——1993）。这次他是小布什为重新计票问题在法庭展开斗争的律师代表，而民主党的律师代表似乎克林顿政府中担任过国务卿的克里斯托弗Warren Christopher (1993--1997)。

8.  Dick Cheney        切尼是小布什父亲执政时的老臣。他这次出山要以辅弼大臣的资格和经验辅佐朝政。所以报道中提到he will act in the Bush administration as a president in a corporation while George W. Bush as the Chairman of the board of directors.

9.       John Adams (1735—1848), 约翰·亚当斯，美国第二任总统（1979——1801），联邦党人，Federalist, 是起草独立宣言的关键人物。

10.    John Quincy Adams （1767—1848） 美国第六任总统，是上述亚当斯大儿子。

11.    resolved and resigned 这里指他的追随者认为戈尔坚定而又顺从（天命），因为戈尔的演说，一方面感谢他们的支持，五星期来保证每张票都应计算的努力是捍卫了原则问题，另一方面也是号召全国支持新总统。

12.    It saw no such leeway.  美国高等法院认为这是没有成功的多花时间，金钱的事。和后面句内for all practical purpose the election was over 事实上选举已结束（已成定居），传达了高等法院认为重新计票毫无作用之义。

13.    That decision, by a court fractured along philosophical lines, left one liberal justice charging that the high court’s proceedings bore a political taint.

[参考译文] 法院这一裁决割裂了哲学思想，使一位自由派法官（司法官）指高等法院程序沾上了政治污点。

14.    But at the end of five seemingly endless weeks, during which the physical, legal and constitutional machines of the U. S. election were pressed and sorely tested in ways unseen in more than a century, the system finally produced a result, and one most Americans appeared to be willing at lease provisionally to support.

[参考译文] 经过5个似乎无休止的星期之后，这个制度总算产生了一个结果，一个大多数美国人，至少目前能暂时支持的总统。在这五星期内，有形的，法律的，政体的机器都经受了压力（都很紧张），也经受了一百多年来没有见过的这方面的沉重考验。

 

写作方法和文章大意

这是一篇报导，其特点先画龙点睛指出中心事实，Bush当选，戈尔退出，然后以对比手法写出胜者和败方的处理方法，前者低调，谨慎，似乎宽容，后者似乎退让，认命，再次选举的经过，特别是最高法院的裁决，决定选举的命运点出胜败之因（因果写法）。小布什的险胜有点类似1876的选举（实例佐证）。

 

答案祥解

1.        A. 布什在总统选举中获胜沾上了政治污点。整篇文章环绕这一点而写。文章一开始就写戈尔在高等法院裁决下退出竞选，再写布什得胜后的低调行动表示对戈尔的期望。仁厚点出271——276选举团票布什的险胜是和全国最高法院的欺诈性裁决有关，这令戈尔痛心疾首，令布什等感恩戴德。最后集中写了高等法院司法程序沾上了政治污点，以及当选之布什的后果——大多数美国人似乎暂时会支持。这一切说明布什胜胜不武，而戈尔却是虽败尤胜。

B. 美国总统选举过程，文章过程的焦点在布什获胜之因，不单单是过程，故B. 项不对。

C. 高等法院在总统选举中起着重要的作用。其作用是欺诈性裁决，偏袒布什获胜，是政治污点，反映了布什的手段。      D. 戈尔很难受，这是事实，但不是中心思想。

2.        B. 布什希望戈尔（能退一步）承认失败，并支持他，而戈尔确实是也这样做了。所以他的助手称戈尔为“resolved and resigned.” 坚决而又顺从天命的人。至少在他的演讲中号召人们追随新总统。

A. 布什希望戈尔参与他的政府。      C. 布什希望戈尔祝贺他。     D. 布什希望戈尔继续和他斗下去。

3.        C. 美国的总统由选举团提名选举产生。见难句译注5和6。

A. 美国总统由高等法院裁决。        B. 人民不能直接选举总统。这只是第一步的原因，主要原因在C.        D. 各州人民支持布什。

4.        D. 其结果实质上就是反对重新计票。这在第十二段阐述得很清楚：高等法院5比4之裁决实质上就是重新计票在12月12日州选举总统选举团的最后一天之前是不能进行的，而戈尔曾认为弗罗里达州可以法律和宪法的形式重新计票。总统选举团一产生。总统由选举团提名选举产生，那么重新计票与否对总统选举实际上是毫无作用，所以说5比4裁决12月12日之前……实质上就是反对重新计票。

A. 其结果实际上是支持重新计票。不对。        B. 其结果和总统选举毫无关系，不对，关系很大，见D项注释。        C. 其结果决定胜者的命运。

5.        B. 它隐射2000年的总统选举和1876年的总统选举两者之间有着很大的相似之处。见难句译注6，海因斯认为输了，正准备放弃，谁知涉嫌欺骗行为，对有争议的州进行重新计票。结果是海因斯以一票之差险胜。重新计票以及险胜都和2000年总统选举相似，其它方面，如以为输而没有输，重新计票州多而且起到作用等……，都和2000年选举不同，所以只能选B项，A项完全一样是错误的。

A. 两者选举总统过程一个样。       C. 把1876年总统选举比作2000年的总统选举。      D. 作为例子给出。 这里没有说明。

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