美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-01-10

 There’ll be a new person behind that desk in the Pentagon soon. On Monday, President Obama announced his nominee¹ to be the next secretary of Defense², former Senator Chuck Hagel. He’s a Republican who served 12 years in the U.S. Senate and he’s also a veteran who fought in the Vietnam War. If he’s confirmed as the next Defense Secretary, he’ll be the first enlisted³ soldier to eventually hold that office. Hagel has made some controversial statements in the past and that could lead to some challenges during his confirmation⁴ process. 

 

Yesterday, the president also nominated John Brennan to be the next director of the CIA. Right now, Brennan is the president’s chief adviser⁵ on counter-terrorism. He worked at the CIA for 25 years, so getting the job as director could be seen as kind of a homecoming for him. And just because President Obama nominates them doesn’t mean Hagel and Brennan will get those jobs. We mentioned they have to be confirmed. And that power belongs to the U.S. Senate. There will be confirmation hearings, where Senators will get to ask nominees⁶ questions before deciding whether or not to vote for them, to approve them for the jobs. 

 

Confirming presidential nominees is one of the responsibilities that can only be done by one part of Congress or the other. For example, the House of Representatives can decide if a government official should be put on trial, but the Senate is the group that holds that trial. On other things, obviously, the House and Senate work together, like coming up with laws. 

 

Yesterday, Athena Jones looked at the issue of gun control. Today, she’s putting the focus on another subject that could be a priority for the new Congress, immigration reform. 

 

What might comprehensive legislation look like? The president says it should include measures to beef up border security, punish companies that purposely hire undocumented workers and give the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants here a way to obtain legal status. Groups that want to restrict immigration are skeptical⁷. 

 

The president himself has said he doesn’t think these laws are enforceable. How, how on earth is Congress ever going to be convinced to pass a package of, of the kind he’s talking about when no guarantees can be made to the general public that the laws will be respected? 

 

Doubts that could signal a long road ahead for this legislative⁸ push. 

 

Right now, what’s interesting on immigration is that everyone is talking the talk, and that includes Democrats⁹ and Republicans, but, again, there’s a big difference between talking the talk and walking the walk on policy. 

 

A big question is whether the parties can agree on how to approach this immigration issue. Should it be on big bill which many Democrats are pushing? Or several smaller ones which many Republicans favor, because they say this issue so complex. Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》