VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - Looking Back at the Life of

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, Americans said goodbye to the last son of one of the nation's most politically influential¹ families. Senator Edward Kennedy died Tuesday of brain cancer. He was seventy-seven.
　
A visitor writes in a memorial book at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston

Senator Kennedy -- often known as Ted² or Teddy -- was the youngest of four sons born to Rose and Joseph Kennedy. Their son Joe was killed in World War Two. Senator Kennedy followed his brothers John and Robert into politics. John became president. Robert became his attorney general, and later a senator. Both were assassinated³ in the nineteen sixties.

Edward first won his Senate seat from Massachusetts in nineteen sixty-two. Six years later, he showed his gifts as a speaker after a gunman shot Robert.

EDWARD KENNEDY: "My brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it."

Robert wanted to become president. So did Edward. But his political career nearly ended in nineteen sixty-nine.
　
Mourners in Boston wait to pass the senator's flag-draped coffin⁴ to pay their final respects

He drove a car off a low bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. His passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died. The senator left and waited hours to go to the police. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and received a suspended sentence.

Still, he went on to become the third longest serving senator ever. He ran for president in nineteen eighty. The Democrats⁵ nominated Jimmy Carter for a second term.

Other Kennedys today are active in politics and public service. Edward's son Patrick is in Congress. But for now no one holds national attention the way the senator did. It was not always good attention.

As the New York Times put it, he "struggled for much of his life with his weight, with alcohol and with persistent⁶ tales of womanizing." But President Obama remembered him as "not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished⁷ Americans ever to serve our democracy."

Edward Kennedy was known as "the liberal lion of the Senate." He said his "best vote" was his vote against the Iraq war. But he was also willing to compromise with Republicans.

He fought for civil rights for the disabled and for workers' rights. He helped negotiate the Northern Ireland peace agreement in nineteen ninety-eight.

And ten years later, in two thousand eight, he was one of the first top Democrats to support a young senator seeking the party's nomination⁸ for president.

EDWARD KENNEDY: "My friends, I ask you to join in this historic journey to have the courage to choose change. It is time again for a new generation of leadership. It is time now for Barack Obama!"

Social issues were at the heart of Edward Kennedy's work. But he never got to reach one of his goals: health coverage⁹ for all Americans. His weakening health kept him away from the Senate in his final months. But he continued to work from home to help support President Obama's top legislative¹⁰ aim, a health reform plan.

Edward Moore Kennedy will be buried Saturday near his brothers John and Robert at Arlington National Cemetery¹¹ in Virginia. They also had five sisters. Eunice died on August eleventh. The last survivor¹² now is Jean Kennedy Smith.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

4 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

5 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》

6 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

7 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 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。

11 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

12 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。