IMF Head Arrested, Accused of Sexual Assault

     The head of the International Monetary¹ Fund has been arrested in New York City and accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.

    New York police spokesman Paul Browne says Dominique Strauss-Kahn is in custody² and was being questioned Saturday evening.  Police say the French national was pulled from his first class seat on an airplane Saturday evening that was just minutes before taking off for Paris.

    He has not yet been charged.

    Police say a 32-year-old chambermaid(女服务员) at the Sofitel Hotel says she entered Strauss-Kahn's hotel room to clean it early on Saturday afternoon.  The maid told police Strauss-Kahn came out of the bathroom unclothed and attempted to force her into performing sex acts.  She escaped the room and told other hotel personnel, who called the police.

    Police say when they arrived at the hotel, Strauss-Kahn had already left for the airport, leaving behind his mobile phone and other personal items.

    The maid has been treated for minor³ injuries at a local hospital.

    Strauss-Kahn took charge of the IMF in November 2007. The former French Finance Minister is considered a leading contender to run as the Socialist⁴ Party's candidate against President Nicolas Sarkozy in France's 2012 election. Some say Mr. Sarkozy supported Strauss-Kahn to become the IMF director as a ploy⁵ to keep him away from French politics.

    Strauss-Kahn is married to a prominent French television reporter, but has weathered previous sex scandals.  In 2008, he apologized for what he termed "an error in judgement" for an affair with one of his subordinates.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

5 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。