The First Presidential Debate: Hillary Clinton Prevailed; Donald Trump Blamed the Mic
美国大选首场辩论：希拉里占上风 特朗普表现欠佳怪麦克风
TRANSCRIPT
Now for a broader look at the impact of last night's debate, we're joined by NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. And Mara, do you think Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accomplished what they needed to do last night?
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: I think Hillary Clinton did accomplish what she needed to do. She didn't solve all her problems, but she solved a lot of them. She clearly was speaking to her base, to African-Americans and women. But she was also trying to reach out to those voters who don't want to vote for Trump but have real concerns about her honesty and trustworthy and likeableness. She kept smiling throughout the debate. She wasn't aggressive or harsh. She spoke in simple, clear sentences. And to quote the president of the United States, she was likeable enough last night.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, didn't clear the low hurdle that was set for him. His campaign called him the Babe Ruth of debaters, but now it looks like Babe Ruth has to go back to the batting cage and do some more preparation. And that raises a really interesting question for the Trump campaign because they have to decide what he has to do differently next time. He had several conflicting problems. He was very aggressive, and he interrupted a lot. But he also was not coherent, and he had too many word-salad answers. So the next time, does he need to be more restrained and more substantive? Or does he need to press his case more aggressively? I think by not clearing the low hurdle he had for this debate, he creates a much higher hurdle for himself for the second debate.
SHAPIRO: There was a lot of talk going into this debate about how much fact checking the moderator Lester Holt would do. How does that look in the rearview mirror? What happened?
LIASSON: Lester Holt did do some fact checking. The candidate's fact checked each other. Donald Trump constantly said wrong, wrong when Hillary Clinton was talking. She interrupted him by saying, no, I didn't do that. And the whole media world was fact checking. That's plenty of the conversation today.
The other thing is that there were a lot of issues that weren't talked about. Benghazi didn't come up. She wasn't asked about the Clinton Foundation, health care, education, veterans. There were a lot of issues that the moderator didn't raise, but the candidates didn't raise them either.
SHAPIRO: And how are the candidates reacting now that the debate is behind them?
LIASSON: Trump complained that the mic wasn't working in the hall maybe as an explanation on why he didn't do that well. This morning he went on "Fox and Friends" and was talking about Alicia Machado, who was the Miss Universe contestant, about how much weight she gained and how much she ate. He was talking about his tax returns, and he said some of these questions are, quote, "not answerable in a positive light."
On the other hand, the Clinton campaign's aftermath was just relief and joy. They feel she did very, very well. On the plane this morning Clinton said that anyone who complains about the microphone not working clearly did not have a good night. So Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief today. And for a party famous for its hand-wringing, one member of Congress said there will be no bedwetting among Democrats for at least 12 hours.
SHAPIRO: Well, apart from that, do you think this debate changed anything concrete?
LIASSON: We don't know yet if it changed anything concrete. We're going to have to wait for the polls. But it's possible that it could have stopped Donald Trump's momentum. That's what was happening in the days leading up to the debate. The race was tightening. It was a virtual tie, and he was surging in some of the key battleground states. Most people are decided.
This is a very polarized electorate, but there are plenty of people who didn't want to vote for Hillary Clinton but were waiting to see if Donald Trump could convince them he had the right temperament to be president. And there were some people on the fence that didn't want to vote for Donald Trump but weren't sure Hillary Clinton was honest and trustworthy. We'll see soon if they were able to make any inroads among those still undecided people.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Mara Liasson, thanks a lot.
LIASSON: Thank you.
SHAPIRO: And NPR's live coverage of the presidential debates continues next Tuesday for the vice presidential debate.
VOCABULARY
1. likeable adj. 可爱的；讨人喜欢的 Someone or something that is likeable is pleasant and easy to like. 例如：
He was an immensely likeable chap. 他是个极讨人喜欢的家伙。
2. come up被提及; 被讨论 If something comes up in a conversation or meeting, it is mentioned or discussed. 例如：
The subject came up during a pre-dinner drink with our guests. 在与客人喝餐前酒的时候，有人提到了这个话题。
Jeanne Kirkpatrick's name has come up a lot. 珍妮•柯克帕特里克的名字被多次提到。
3. aftermath n. 后果；余波 The aftermath of an important event, especially a harmful one, is the situation that results from it. 例如：
In the aftermath of the coup, the troops opened fire on the demonstrators. 政变结果是军队向游行示威者开火了。
During the Soviet era and its immediate aftermath, the region was officially known as "Middle Asia and Kazakhstan". 在苏联时代和紧随其后的一段时期，该地区的官方名称为"中亚和哈萨克斯坦"。
4. apart from: in addition to; as well as 除了…外（还）；此外；加之。例如：
Apart from their house in London, they also have a villa in Spain. 他们在伦敦有一座房子，此外在西班牙还有一座别墅。
It was a difficult time. Apart from everything else, we had financial problems. 当时是困难时期。别的一切都不说，我们财政上也有问题。
You've got to help. Apart from anything else you're my brother. 你得帮忙。别的不说，你总归是我兄弟。
5. lead up to（一系列事件）导致，致使，引致 The events that led up to a particular event happened one after the other until that event occurred. 例如：
Alan Tomlinson has reconstructed the events that led up to the deaths. 艾伦•汤姆林森再现了导致多人死亡的一系列事件。
They had a series of arguments, leading up to a decision to separate. 他们经过连番争吵后决定分居。
6. on the fence (在争论中)持观望的态度，抱骑墙的态度。例如：
Are you for or against the new policy, or are you on the fence? 对于新政策，你是支持、反对还是保持中立？
On the fence 常与动词sit搭配使用，构成sit on the fence短语，意为：to avoid becoming involved in deciding or influencing sth. 骑墙；持观望态度。例如：
He tends to sit on the fence at meetings. 开会时他往往持观望态度。
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and mark the following statements T (true) or F (false). Correct any that are false.
1. Mara Liasson thinks that Hillary Clinton did accomplish what she needed to do in the first presidential debate.
2. Hillary Clinton kept smiling throughout the debate.
3. Donald Trump didn't clear the low hurdle that was set for him. Instead, he creates a much higher hurdle for himself for the second debate.
4. Donald Trump was very aggressive, and he interrupted a lot during the debate.
5. There were a lot of issues that weren't talked about in the debate.
6. Trump complained that the mic wasn't working in the hall maybe as an explanation on why he didn't do that well.
7. The Clinton campaign's aftermath was just relief and joy.
8. But it's possible that the debate could have stopped Donald Trump's momentum.
9. This is a very polarized electorate, but there are plenty of people who didn't want to vote for Hillary Clinton but were waiting to see if Donald Trump could convince them he had the right temperament to be president.
10. NPR's live coverage of the presidential debates will continue on next Tuesday for the presidential debate.
KEY
| QUESTION | T / F | |
| 1 | T | |
| 2 | T | |
| 3 | T | |
| 4 | T | |
| 5 | T | |
| 6 | T | |
| 7 | T | |
| 8 | T | |
| 9 | T | |
| 10 | F | And NPR’s live coverage of the presidential debates continues next Tuesday for the vice presidential debate. |
附：Statements 命题出处
The First Presidential Debate: Hillary Clinton Prevailed; Donald Trump Blamed the Mic
美国大选首场辩论：希拉里占上风 特朗普表现欠佳怪麦克风
TRANSCRIPT
Now for a broader look at the impact of last night's debate, we're joined by NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. And Mara, do you think Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accomplished what they needed to do last night?
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Q1 I think Hillary Clinton did accomplish what she needed to do. She didn't solve all her problems, but she solved a lot of them. She clearly was speaking to her base, to African-Americans and women. But she was also trying to reach out to those voters who don't want to vote for Trump but have real concerns about her honesty and trustworthy and likeableness. Q2 She kept smiling throughout the debate. She wasn't aggressive or harsh. She spoke in simple, clear sentences. And to quote the president of the United States, she was likeable enough last night.
Q3 Donald Trump, on the other hand, didn't clear the low hurdle that was set for him. His campaign called him the Babe Ruth of debaters, but now it looks like Babe Ruth has to go back to the batting cage and do some more preparation. And that raises a really interesting question for the Trump campaign because they have to decide what he has to do differently next time. He had several conflicting problems. Q4 He was very aggressive, and he interrupted a lot. But he also was not coherent, and he had too many word-salad answers. So the next time, does he need to be more restrained and more substantive? Or does he need to press his case more aggressively? Q3 I think by not clearing the low hurdle he had for this debate, he creates a much higher hurdle for himself for the second debate.
SHAPIRO: There was a lot of talk going into this debate about how much fact checking the moderator Lester Holt would do. How does that look in the rearview mirror? What happened?
LIASSON: Lester Holt did do some fact checking. The candidate's fact checked each other. Donald Trump constantly said wrong, wrong when Hillary Clinton was talking. She interrupted him by saying, no, I didn't do that. And the whole media world was fact checking. That's plenty of the conversation today.
Q5 The other thing is that there were a lot of issues that weren't talked about. Benghazi didn't come up. She wasn't asked about the Clinton Foundation, health care, education, veterans. There were a lot of issues that the moderator didn't raise, but the candidates didn't raise them either.
SHAPIRO: And how are the candidates reacting now that the debate is behind them?
LIASSON: Q6 Trump complained that the mic wasn't working in the hall maybe as an explanation on why he didn't do that well. This morning he went on "Fox and Friends" and was talking about Alicia Machado, who was the Miss Universe contestant, about how much weight she gained and how much she ate. He was talking about his tax returns, and he said some of these questions are, quote, "not answerable in a positive light."
Q7 On the other hand, the Clinton campaign's aftermath was just relief and joy. They feel she did very, very well. On the plane this morning Clinton said that anyone who complains about the microphone not working clearly did not have a good night. So Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief today. And for a party famous for its hand-wringing, one member of Congress said there will be no bedwetting among Democrats for at least 12 hours.
SHAPIRO: Well, apart from that, do you think this debate changed anything concrete?
LIASSON: We don't know yet if it changed anything concrete. We're going to have to wait for the polls. Q8 But it's possible that it could have stopped Donald Trump's momentum. That's what was happening in the days leading up to the debate. The race was tightening. It was a virtual tie, and he was surging in some of the key battleground states. Most people are decided.
Q9 This is a very polarized electorate, but there are plenty of people who didn't want to vote for Hillary Clinton but were waiting to see if Donald Trump could convince them he had the right temperament to be president. And there were some people on the fence that didn't want to vote for Donald Trump but weren't sure Hillary Clinton was honest and trustworthy. We'll see soon if they were able to make any inroads among those still undecided people.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Mara Liasson, thanks a lot.
LIASSON: Thank you.
SHAPIRO: Q10 And NPR's live coverage of the presidential debates continues next Tuesday for the vice presidential debate.
ADAPTED FROM http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201609/468854.shtml
来源：刘立军