Democratic convention: Michelle Obama blasts Trump

18 Aug 2020

BBC NEWS

Michelle Obama has launched a stinging?attack on US President Donald Trump as Democrats prepared to crown?Joe Biden as their White House challenger.

Democratic convention：民主黨大會

blast ?/blɑ?st/ n. 爆炸；沖擊波；一陣；vi. 猛攻；vt. 爆炸；損害；使枯萎

sting /st??/?adj. 激烈的；刺人的；刺一樣的

"Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country," said the former US first lady in an emotional recorded message to the Democratic convention.

Disaffected members of Mr Trump's Republican party also?piled in?on him at the Democratic party conference.

Pile in塞進(jìn)；擠入??Pile：n. 堆；大量；建筑群；vt. 累積；打樁于；vi. 擠；堆積；積累

The election takes place on Tuesday 3 November.

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, Democrats scrapped?plans for a crowded party extravaganza?with balloon drops and all the other political razzmatazz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Scrap?n. 碎片；殘余物；打架；少；vt. 廢棄；使解體；拆毀；adj. 廢棄的；零碎的；vi. 吵架

extravaganza /?k?str?v??ɡ?nz?/?n. 狂妄的言行；內(nèi)容狂妄的作品；鋪張華麗的表演

razzmatazz n. ??/?r?zm??t?z/ ?令人眼花繚亂的活動

Milwaukee?/m?l?w??ki/ （美國）密爾沃基

But it is unclear whether the largely virtual schedule of pre-recorded speeches with no live audience can generate the same level of enthusiasm as pre-pandemic gatherings of the party faithful.

Republicans will face the same challenge as they make their case for four more years in the White House at a?drastically?scaled-down?convention next week.

scale-down與scale-up是反義詞，成比例縮小--成比例擴(kuò)大

What did Michelle Obama say?

Mrs Obama, who recorded her keynote address before Mr Biden announced his running mate, senator Kamala Harris, six days ago, launched a blistering?attack on Mr Trump.

blistering adj. ??/?bl?st?r??/ ?

1.(describing actions in sport) done very fast or with great energy （描述體育動作）迅速的，勁頭十足的??The runners set off at a blistering pace. 賽跑運(yùn)動員如脫韁野馬般起跑了。

2.extremely hot in a way that is uncomfortable 酷熱的??a blistering July day 七月的一個大熱天

3.very critical 言辭激烈的；尖刻的??a blistering attack 激烈的抨擊

"You simply cannot fake your way through this job," she said in remarks that closed the first night of the convention on Monday.

The headline speaker added: "Our economy is in shambles?because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long."

shamble v. /???mbl/?vi. 蹣跚地走；搖晃不穩(wěn)；搖搖晃晃地走；n. 蹣跚；搖晃的腳步

"Stating the simple fact that a black life matters is still met with?derision?from the nation's highest office," Mrs Obama continued.

derision n. /d??r??n/ ?a strong feeling that sb/sth is ridiculous and not worth considering seriously, shown by laughing in an unkind way or by making unkind remarks 嘲笑；取笑；奚落

"Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership, or consolation?or any?semblance?of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total and utter?lack of empathy."

consolation ?n. /?k?ns??le??n/ ?使感到安慰的人（或事）；安慰；慰藉

semblance n. ??/?sembl?ns/ ?~ of sth ( formal ) a situation in which sth seems to exist although this may not, in fact, be the case 表象；假象；外觀；外貌

utter /??t?(r)/?adj. 完全的；徹底的；無條件的?v. 說出；發(fā)出，表達(dá)；發(fā)射；使用偽鈔

empathy n. /?emp?θi/ ?~ (with sb/sth)~ (for sb/sth)~ (between A and B) the ability to understand another person's feelings, experience, etc. 同感；共鳴；同情

She said the last four years had been difficult to explain to America's children.

"They see our leaders labelling fellow citizens enemies of the state, while emboldening?torch-bearing white supremacists.

embolden ?v. /?m?b??ld?n/ [ usually passive ] ( formal ) to make sb feel braver or more confident 使增加勇氣；使更有膽量；使更有信心

Supremacist??n. /su??prem?s?st/ ?/sju??/ ?a person who believes that their own race is better than others and should be in power 種族優(yōu)越論者?? a white supremacist 白人至上主義者

"They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protests for a photo op."

photo op媒體拍照機(jī)會（photo opportunity）

Mrs Obama continued: "Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.

"He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is."

She described Mr Biden as a "profoundly decent man", touting?the Democratic White House candidate's experience as vice-president under her husband, President Barack Obama.

tout /ta?t/ ?

1.[ VN ] ~ sb/sth (as sth)標(biāo)榜；吹捧；吹噓??She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧為該黨的下一任領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。

2.~ (for sth) 兜售；推銷??the problem of unlicensed taxi drivers touting for business at airports 沒有執(zhí)照的出租汽車司機(jī)在機(jī)場攬生意的問題

3.（尤指在劇院、體育場等外）倒賣高價票，賣黑市票

4. Tout=ticket tout :（音樂會、體育比賽等的）賣高價票的人，票販子

"We have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it," she said, wearing a necklace that said "Vote".

An emotional punch

Punch：n. 沖壓機(jī)；打洞器；鉆孔機(jī)；vt. 開洞；以拳重?fù)簦籿i. 用拳猛擊

1.?punch ?in/?out：用記時卡登錄（上、下班）時間；刷記時卡

2.?punch sth←→?in?punch sth ?into sth：將（信息）鍵入計算機(jī)??He punched in the security code. 他把密碼輸入電腦。

3.?punch sb ?out 將某人擊倒

4.?punch sth←→?out

(1) to press a combination of buttons or keys on a computer, telephone, etc. 按鍵（輸入號碼等）??He picked up the telephone and punched out his friend's number. 他拿起電話，撥打朋友的電話號碼。

(2) to make a hole in sth or knock sth out by hitting it very hard 在…上打孔；打掉

emotional punch：感情沖擊，感情牌

A lot of politicians spoke at the camera during the "virtual" Democratic convention on Monday night. The only speaker who landed an emotional punch, however, was Michelle Obama.

The truth, she said, was that Donald Trump "simply cannot be who we need him to be for us".

"It is what it is," she said, employing the same words the president recently used about the coronavirus death toll - a?jab?that was as?subtle?as it was devastating.

Jab：/d??b/

動詞：~ (sth) (in sb/sth)~ (at sth)~ sb/sth (with sth) to push a pointed object into sb/sth, or in the direction of sb/sth, with a sudden strong movement 戳；刺；捅；猛擊 ?

名詞：1.戳；刺；捅；用拳猛擊?She gave him a jab in the stomach with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘猛頂他的肚子。?a boxer's left jab 拳擊手的左刺拳?2.注射；接種；預(yù)防針??a flu jab 流感預(yù)防針

subtle adj. /?s?tl/ ?微妙的；精細(xì)的；敏感的；狡猾的；稀薄的

She wasn't trying to convince Republicans to switch sides. That was John Kasich's job.

She wasn't trying to get?left-wing progressives?to rally to Biden. Bernie Sanders handled that.

left-wing progressive：左翼進(jìn)步人士，左翼激進(jìn)派

rally /?r?li/ ?

1.公眾集會，群眾大會（尤指支持某信念或政黨的）?to attend/hold a rally 參加╱召集大會??a peace/protest, etc. rally 和平集會、抗議集會等

2.（汽車、摩托車等的）拉力賽??rally driving 公路賽車

3.( in tennis and similar sports 網(wǎng)球及類似項目 ) （爭奪一分的）往返拍擊；對打

4.( in sport or on the Stock Exchange 體育運(yùn)動或證券交易 ) 止跌回升

5.~ (sb/sth) (around/behind/to sb/sth)召集；集合?The cabinet rallied behind the Prime Minister. 內(nèi)閣團(tuán)結(jié)一致支持首相。

6.復(fù)原；恢復(fù)健康；振作精神??He never really rallied after the operation. 手術(shù)后，他根本沒有真正康復(fù)。

7.( finance 財 ) ( especially of share prices or a country's money 尤指股票價格或貨幣 )價格回升；跌后回升?The pound rallied against the dollar. 英鎊對美元的比值回升了。

8.rally ?round/a?round?rally ?round/a?round sb

( of a group of people 一群人 ) to work together in order to help sb who is in a difficult or unpleasant situation 團(tuán)結(jié)在一起

Mrs Obama was speaking to loyal Democrats, some of whom may have stayed at home or voted for a third party in 2016, some of whom may be dispirited?or scared this year.

dispirited adj. /d??sp?r?t?d/ ?having no hope or enthusiasm 氣餒的；垂頭喪氣的；心灰意懶的?? She looked tired and dispirited. 她顯得疲倦而且神情沮喪。

Her goal was to drive home the gravity of the moment and to give them a call to action.

What else happened on Monday?

The opening night of the convention, a two-hour programme hosted by former Desperate Housewives?actress Eva Longoria Baston, was titled by party organisers "We the People".

Desperate Housewives：絕望主婦（美劇）

John Kasich, a former Ohio governor who ran against Mr Trump in 2016, recorded a message calling on Americans to deny the president a second term in office.

Mr Kasich endorsed Mr Biden, saying: "We can all see what's going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us, and no one person or party has all the answers.

"But what we do know is that we can do better than what we've been seeing today, for sure."

Bernie Sanders, the left-wing?Vermont?senator?who was Mr Biden's fiercest competitor during the Democratic party's contest to pick a challenger to Mr Trump, also recorded a message.

Vermont?senator：佛蒙特州參議員

He said: "My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake."

He added:?"Nero fiddled while Rome burned - Trump golfs."

at stake：危如累卵；處于危險中；在緊要關(guān)頭

fiddle ?/?f?dl/ ?

1.[ V ] ~ (with sth) （尤指厭煩或緊張地）不斷摸弄，不停擺弄??He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我談話時他不停地擺弄鑰匙。

2. ( informal ) 篡改；偽造；對…做手腳??to fiddle the accounts 篡改賬目

3.( informal ) to play music on the violin 拉小提琴

Nero fiddled while Rome burned ：Nero尼祿（古羅馬暴君）這句話直譯是尼祿拉琴時羅馬正在燃燒。這是一個典故，據(jù)傳尼祿荒淫無道，性喜奢華，殘暴嗜血，被稱作“嗜血的尼祿”，但酷愛藝術(shù)，本人就是一個詩人、劇作者、演唱者與豎琴演奏者。在他在位期間，羅馬發(fā)生大火，全城波及，死傷無數(shù)，最大嫌疑人被認(rèn)為是尼祿自己。大家認(rèn)為他想要擴(kuò)建宮殿，但周圍都是平民住宅區(qū)。為達(dá)成目的，派人夜間縱火燒毀房屋。事后污蔑基督徒，大肆捕殺基督徒。

?"Nero fiddled while Rome burned - Trump golfs."這句話將川普比成尼祿暴君，高爾夫類比豎琴，美國類比羅馬。暗示川普暴虐無道，美國要被川普給作沒了。

Along with Mr Kasich, three other high-profile Republicans recorded messages for the convention's opening night: California businesswoman Meg Whitman, former New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman and former New York congresswoman Susan Molinari.

While their inclusion left the Biden team claiming a broad?coalition, some Democrats?grumbled?that the Republicans used up precious time that could have benefited progressive speakers or?lesser-known?rising stars.

coalition ?n. /?k????l??n/?聯(lián)合；結(jié)合，合并

grumble ???/?ɡr?mbl/ ?

1.~ (at/to sb) (about/at sb/sth) 咕噥；嘟囔；發(fā)牢騷

?She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她總是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受虧待。 ?They kept grumbling that they were cold. 他們不停地嘟囔著說冷。

2.?to make a deep continuous sound 咕??；發(fā)轟隆聲

lesser-known：較罕為人知的

But Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman and Biden campaign co-chairman, rejected that idea, saying, "remember tonight's theme is 'We the People,' not 'We the Democrats'".

The opening night also featured pre-recorded messages from everyday Americans, including repentant?Trump voters and a woman who blamed her father's death from Covid-19 on the president.

repentant ?adj. /r??pent?nt/ ：feeling or showing that you are sorry for sth wrong that you have done 后悔的；悔過的；表示悔改的

How did President Trump hit back?

Speaking to the BBC on Air Force One as he flew back from a trip to the presidential swing-voting states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Kasich.

lash out ：1. 猛擊? Riot police fired in the air and lashed out with clubs to disperse hundreds of demonstrators. 防暴警察向空中開了槍，并猛擊警棍來驅(qū)散數(shù)百名示威者。2.If you lash out at someone or something, you speak to them or about them very angrily or critically. 痛斥

"He was a loser as a Republican, and he'll be a loser as a Democrat," the president said on Monday. "The guy was a major loser as a Republican."

During a campaign speech earlier in the day in Mankato, Minnesota, Mr Trump warned that if Mr Biden won in November, news outlets would lose their audiences.

Mankato?/m?'keit?u/?n.?曼卡多（美國明尼蘇達(dá)城市名）

"Nobody's going to want to cover sleepy Joe," Mr Trump said. "We will end up with one very boring socialist country that will go to hell."

Mr Trump on Monday also confirmed he would accept the Republican nomination for a second term during a live speech at the White House next week.

His plans have been criticised by Democrats and even some fellow Republicans.

How will the rest of the Democratic convention play out?

The four-night?jamboree?will culminate in?Mr Biden's speech on Thursday in a mostly empty ballroom in his home state of Delaware.

jamboree n. /?d??mb??ri?/ ?

1.a large party or celebration 大型聚會；慶祝會??the movie industry's annual jamboree at Cannes 在戛納舉行的一年一度的影展

2.a large meeting of Scouts or Guides 童子軍大會；女童子軍大會

culminate v. /?k?lm?ne?t/ ?~ (in/with sth) ( formal ) to end with a particular result, or at a particular point （以某種結(jié)果）告終；（在某一點）結(jié)束

On Wednesday, his vice-presidential pick, Ms Harris, the daughter of immigrant parents from India and Jamaica, will accept her nomination as the first woman of colour to be a running mate on a major party presidential ticket.

Also speaking on Wednesday are former President Obama, Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, and one of Mr Biden's former rivals, senator Elizabeth Warren.

nominee n. ?/?n?m??ni?/ ?a person who has been formally suggested for a job, a prize, etc. 被提名人；被任命者

Tuesday will hear speeches from former President Bill Clinton and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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