專業八級翻譯輔導

Four months before the election day, five men gathered in a small conference room at the Reagan-Bush headquarters and reviewed an oversize calendar that marked the remaining days of the 1984 presidential campaign. It was the last Saturday in June and at ten o’’clock in the morning the rest of the office was practically deserted. Even so, the men kept the door shut and the drapes carefully drawn. The three principals and their two deputies had come from around the country for a critical meeting. Their aim was to devise a strategy that would guarantee Ronald Reagan’’s resounding reelection to a second term in the White House.

It should have been easy. These were battle-tested veterans with long ties to Reagan and even longer ones to the Republican party, men who understood presidential politics as well as any in the country. The backdrop of the campaign was hospitable, with lots of good news to work with: America was at peace, and the nation’’s economy, a key factor in any election, was rebounding vigorously after recession. Furthermore, the campaign itself was lavishly financed, with plenty of money for a topflight staff, travel, and television commercials. And, most important, their candidate was Ronald Reagan, a president of tremendous personal popularity and dazzling communication skills. Reagan has succeeded more than any president since John. F. Kennedy in projecting a broad vision of America -a nation of renewed military strength, individual initiative, and smaller federal government.

在離選舉日還有四個月的時間，有五個人聚集在里根-布什總部的一個小型會議室裏，翻着看一張碩大無比的日曆，日曆上清晰地標識出了1984年總統競選剩下的日子。這是六月份的最後一個星期六的上午10時，整幢辦公樓的其他部分幾近人去樓空。即便如此，這幾個人仍將大門緊閉，小心翼翼地拉下窗簾。三個主要人物及其二個副手從美國的不同地方匯聚在一起，召開一個殊為重要的會議。他們的目標是構思出一種策略，來確保里根能再次當選，在第二任期內再度入主白宮。

要謀求再次當選理應輕而易舉。這是一些久經沙場的退伍老兵，與里根有着千絲萬縷的漫長聯繫，與共和黨的聯繫甚至更為久遠。這些人深諳總統政治，一如他們熟知這個國家中的所有政治事務那樣。競選的背景十分宜人，可供大做文章的好消息俯拾皆是：美國正置身於太平盛世之中;作為選舉的一個關鍵因素，整個國家的經濟在步出蕭條期之後正強勁反彈。此外，競選本身所籌得的'款項更是不計其數。用於支付一流水平的競爭班子工作人員工資、進行巡迴造勢、以及製作播放電視廣告的錢款綽綽有餘。最為重要的是，他們所推介的總統候選人是羅納爾德· 里根(Ronald Reagan)，一位風度翩翩，魅力無窮，又極具迷人溝通技巧的執政總統。與約翰·F·肯尼迪(John F. Kennedy)以來的任何一位歷屆總統相比，里根更成功地勾勒出了一幅廣闊的關於美國未來的前景--美國將成了一個重振軍事雄風、民眾富於個人進取心、聯邦政府更加精簡高效的國家。