【雅思课外精读】乔·拜登的故事：一个普通中产的奋斗史

　　Joe Biden profile: Third White House run lucky for 'Middle Class Joe'乔·拜登简介: “中产阶级乔”终于在第三次竞选后入主白宫

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　　1. This election was the culmination of former US Vice-President Joe Biden's third bid for the White House. But unlike previous attempts in 1987 and 2008, he entered the race for the Democratic nomination as the de facto frontrunner, the best-known in the field.

　　此次选举是美国前副总统乔·拜登三次竞选总统的高潮。但是，与1987年和2008年的竞选不同的是，这一次，他是民主党一致推举的候选人。

　　2. The 77-year-old suffered early setbacks in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary but seized control of the contest with a string of successes on Super Tuesday when 14 states vote on the nomination.

　　拜登现年77岁，一开始的时候，他在爱荷华的预选会议和新罕布什尔州初选中遭遇了挫折，但是，超级星期二之后，他在14个州的初选中连续获胜，最后掌握了竞选的主动权。

　　3. Mr Biden's lower-key election campaign style contrasted with President Donald Trump's larger rallies as the Democrat portrayed himself as more responsible on observing coronavirus measures.

　　拜登坚持低调竞选，这和特朗普的大型集会形成了鲜明对比。拜登称在处理新冠问题上，自己会更加负责。

　　4. Although former President Barack Obama called him the "best vice-president America has ever had", Mr Biden's record from four decades in public office came under attack. So who is Joe Biden and how did he get to this point of becoming president-elect?

　　尽管美国前总统巴拉克•奥巴马称拜登为“美国历史上最好的副总统”，但拜登40年的执政记录还是受到了抨击。那么乔·拜登到底是谁，他是如何成为当选总统的呢?

　　A political fixture政界老手5. Mr Biden ran for the Democratic 2008 nomination before dropping out and joining the Obama ticket. His eight years in the Obama White House - where he frequently appeared at the president's side - has allowed Mr Biden to lay claim to much of Mr Obama's legacy, including passage of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the stimulus package and reforms enacted in response to the financial crisis.

　　2018年，拜登退选并加入奥巴马的阵营之前，曾参加200年民主党总统候选人提名的竞选。在奥巴马八年的总统任期里面，拜登常以副总统的身份出现在奥巴马的身边，他声称奥巴马任期内的一些政绩包括推动平价医保法以及应对金融危机所实施的经济刺激计划中，自己都发挥了作用。

　　6. His association with Mr Obama - a man he frequently calls his "brother" - may have also contributed to his enduring support among African-American voters. As a long-time Washington insider, Mr Biden had solid foreign affairs credentials, and helped balance Mr Obama's comparative lack of executive experience.

　　他称奥巴马是自己的“兄弟”，而这样的亲密关系也帮助获得了非裔美国人的支持。作为一名久在政坛的资深政客，拜登很有外交资历，而这也弥补了奥巴马在行政经验方面的不足。

　　7. The so-called "Middle Class Joe" was also brought on board to help woo the blue-collar white voters who had proved a difficult group for Mr Obama to win over. He made headlines in 2012 by saying he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage, comments that were seen to undercut the president, who had yet to give full-throated support for the policy. Mr Obama ultimately did so, just days after Mr Biden.

　　“中产阶级”的乔加入到奥巴马的阵营，帮助争取蓝领白人选民的支持，他们是奥巴马竞选的一个难点。2012年，奥巴马因为声称自己“不反对”同性婚姻而登上了头条，这削弱了奥巴马的影响力毕竟当时他还没有对此表示支持。在拜登之后几天，奥巴马终于这么做了。

　　8. Mr Biden's two terms supporting the first black president followed a long political career. The six-term senator from Delaware was first elected in 1972. He ran for president in 1988 but withdrew after he admitted to plagiarising a speech by the then leader of the British Labour Party, Neil Kinnock.

　　在支持奥巴马之前，拜登已经久经政坛了。他来自特拉华州，1972年首次当选为议员，此后他连续六次当选。他曾在1988年竞选总统，但在承认剽窃了时任英国工党领袖尼尔•基诺克的一篇演讲后退出了竞选。