巴西要求弹劾罗塞夫总统

AS IT IS 2015-12-05 Brazil Pursues Impeachment¹ Against Rousseff 巴西要求弹劾罗塞夫总统

A senior Brazilian lawmaker approved impeachment hearings Wednesday over allegations against President Dilma Rousseff.

During Rousseff’s presidency², unemployment has increased, the economy has slowed, and she is accused in an oil scandal.

The impeachment process will examine Rousseff’s connection to the Petrobras oil and energy company. The scandal centers on money payoffs to politicians and executives. Rousseff was chairwoman of the Petrobras board when a questionable³ oil refinery⁴ purchase was made in 2006.

She also will be questioned about the government’s accounting⁵ and spending history, according to the Washington Post.

Rousseff has denied any wrong doing.

The Brazilian Chamber⁶ of Deputies will vote on articles of impeachment. If two-thirds of the chamber – or 342 members – vote for impeachment, Rousseff will be suspended. A final vote will be held by the country’s senate.

Rousseff has faced opposition⁷ before. She served three years in prison from 1970 to 1973 and was tortured for subversion⁸ for fighting a military dictatorship. She helped found the Democratic Labor⁹ Party and was Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy. She also was Chief of Staff for then-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Rousseff has faced low public-opinion poll numbers. A September poll revealed only 10 percent of Brazilians think the government is doing a good job.  

She first took office in 2011 and narrowly won reelection in 2014.

Words in This Story

hearing – n. a meeting or session at which evidence and arguments about a crime or complaint are presented to a person or group who will have to decide on what action should be taken

subversion – n. an act or acts to secretly try to ruin or destroy a government, political system

1 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

4 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。