奥巴马连任美国总统

Barack Obama overcame a sluggish economy and high unemployment to win a second term in the White House, a victory based on a sweep of the midwest industrial states.

巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)力克经济疲软和高失业率等不利因素，成功连任美国总统。中西部工业州的普遍支持成为他克敌制胜的关键。

Jubilant Democrats took to the streets of Chicago and Washington to celebrate another historic win for the first African American president.

兴高采烈的民主党人走上芝加哥和华盛顿街头，庆祝史上首位非洲裔美国总统获得另一场历史性的胜利。

Mr Obama edged out his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Minnesota, all states where the Republican challenger had hoped to rein in the Democratic president’s electoral advantage from four years ago.

奥巴马在俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州、新罕布什尔州和明尼苏达州击败了来自共和党的竞选对手米特·罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)。罗姆尼曾希望遏制民主党总统奥巴马四年前在这几个州获得的选举优势。

It was a win that defied predictions that Mr Obama would fall victim to the sluggish economy, with 23m Americans are out of work or underemployed, and polls suggesting a lack of confidence in his leadership.

这场胜利也击破了此前的一种预测，即奥巴马将成为经济疲软的牺牲品。目前有2300万美国人失业或未充分就业，民调也显示民众对奥巴马的领导缺乏信心。

Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, celebrated the fact that Democrats held on to their majority. “The strategy of obstruction, gridlock and delay was soundly rejected by the American people. Now, they are looking to us for solutions, said Mr Reid.

参议院多数党领袖哈里·里德(Harry Reid)对民主党维持住多数优势予以称赞。他说：“美国人民坚决拒绝了阻挠、僵滞和拖延的策略。现在，他们期望我们找到出路。

After a bitterly fought campaign, the voter turn out defied predictions that participation would be lacklustre and that the president could not repeat his inspirational 2010 win.

在争夺激烈的竞选活动后，美国选民用实际行动驳斥了此前的预测，即这次大选的投票率将会很低，而奥巴马也难以复制2010年的胜利。

The victory in Ohio and other states in America’s industrial heartland underscored the importance of the president’s decision to bail out the Detroit car industry, as much as his core message of economic fairness and equal opportunity.

奥巴马在俄亥俄州和其他位于美国工业腹地的州获胜，凸显出总统救助底特律汽车行业的重要性，以及他强调经济公平和平等机会等核心信息的有效性。

Mr Romney made a final dash on Tuesday to Ohio and Pennsylvania, in a last-minute effort to enthuse supporters, even though he held no rallies and was not allowed by law to go too close to polling places.

周二，罗姆尼在俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州展开冲刺，以图在最后时刻鼓动起支持者的热情，不过他没有举行集会，在法律上也不可以过度接近投票站。

On his way back to Boston, Mr Romney told reporters he was only prepared for victory. “I’ve only written one speech at this point, he said.

在返回波士顿的路上，罗姆尼告诉记者，自己只做好了胜利准备。他说：“我只写了一篇演讲词。

After spending the night at home in Chicago, Mr Obama visited volunteers, gave nearly a dozen television interviews and played a game of basketball.

奥巴马在芝加哥家中过夜后接见了志愿者，接受了十多次电视采访，还打了一场篮球赛。

The campaigns and their teams of lawyers were stationed throughout the country and key states, on the lookout for any voting irregularities. In parts of Florida, the swing state with the largest number of electoral college votes, people queued for up to four hours to cast their ballot.

两个竞选班子和律师团队分散在美国各地和各关键州，留意投票异常情况。在选举团票数最多的摇摆州——佛罗里达州，人们为投票最多排队四个小时之久。