VOA慢速英语2018 美最高法院提名人将对性侵指控做出发言

Supreme¹ Court Nominee² to Speak on Sexual Assault Accusation³

United States Senators will hold public hearings next week to hear from a Supreme Court nominee and a woman who has accused him of sexual assault.

美国参议员下周将举行听证会，听取最高法院提名人和一名指控曾遭受最高法院提名人性侵犯的女性发表意见。

The Senate Judiciary Committee completed confirmation⁴ hearings for nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 7.Then, a week ago, the Intercept⁵ online news site reported on a letter containing possibly damaging information about Kavanaugh.

参议院司法委员会于9月7日结束了对被提名人布雷特·卡瓦诺的确认听证会。此后，一周前，Intercept在线新闻网站报道了一封信件，其中可能含有对卡瓦诺产生破坏性影响的信息。

On Monday, a university professor in California said she was the writer of the letter.Christine Blasey Ford⁶ told the Washington Post newspaper that Kavanaugh assaulted her in 1982, when they were both in high school.

9月17日，一名加利福尼亚的大学教授声称自己正是这封信的作者，克里斯汀·布蕾斯·福特在接受华盛顿邮报记者的采访时表示，卡瓦诺在1982年对她实施了性侵犯，那时他们都是高中生。

She said he forced her into a bedroom at a party at a home near Washington, D.C.She said he groped her and tried to remove her clothing.She also said Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth when she tried to shout for help.

她说，当时，华盛顿特区附近的一所房子里正在举办聚会，聚会上，卡瓦诺强迫她进入一间卧室，不仅在她身上乱摸还试图脱掉她的衣服，她补充到，当她要大叫寻求帮助时，卡瓦诺用手捂住了她的嘴。

Ford told the Post, “I thought he might inadvertently kill me.”

福特告诉邮报记者，“我以为他会失手把我杀了。” 

Kavanaugh has denied remembering anything about that reported party.He said he has never attacked any woman.

卡瓦诺称自己毫不记得报道里面提到过的聚会。他还说自己从来没有侵犯过任何女性。 

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, is chairman of the judiciary committee.He said Monday the committee would hold a public hearing early next week to “provide ample transparency.”

来自爱荷华州的共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利是司法委员会的主席。他于17日表示，委员会将于下周初举行公开听证会，做到充分的公正透明。

Kavanaugh has said he would appear at that hearing.

卡瓦诺表示自己会出席当天的听证会。 

But Ford’s lawyers have called for a federal investigation⁷ of her claims before she speaks to the Senate.The lawyers argue that some senators appear to have already decided⁸ that they believe Kavanaugh instead of Ford.

然而，福特在向参议院发表讲话之前，她的的律师已经要求联邦调查局调查她的诉讼请求。福特的律师认为，一些参议员似乎已经决定相信卡瓦诺而不是福特。

On Wednesday, Grassley released a statement saying,”“Nothing the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] or any other investigator⁹ does would have any bearing on what Dr. Ford tells the committee,so there is no reason for any further delay.

格拉斯利19日发表声明说，“福特博士同委员会的对话内容不会因联邦调查局和其他调查人员的介入而受到任何影响，所以没有理由将听证会再拖延下去。”

The statement again extended an invitation to Ford to speak to the committee.

格拉斯利的声明还再次邀请福特和委员会进行对话。 

Ford’s lawyers say she has received death threats and other danger since going public with her story.

福特的律师表示，福特把自己的故事公之于众之后，遭遇了多次死亡威胁和危险情况。 

Republicans on the committee had hoped to hold a vote as early as Thursday of this week to move Kavanaugh’s nomination¹⁰ forward.

司法委员会的共和党成员希望尽快在本周四举行投票选举，加快卡瓦诺的提名进程。 

President Donald Trump¹¹ spoke¹² about the issue Wednesday morning.He said it was "very hard” for him to imagine that Kavanaugh had acted as Ford has described.But, he said he hopes Ford will appear at the hearing.

总统唐纳德·特朗普于19日对这一事件发表声明。他表示很难想象卡瓦诺真的做过福特描述的行为，他希望福特能够出席当天的听证会。

"I really want to see her, to see what she has to say," Trump said.

特朗普说，“我希望看到她出席听证会，希望听听她说法。”

Words in This Story

assault -n. a violent physical attack?

grope -v. to touch (someone) in an unwanted and unexpected sexual way?

inadvertently -adv. not purposefully or as planned; accidentally?

ample -adj. having or providing enough or more than enough of what is needed?

transparency -n. the quality that makes something obvious or easy to understand?

further -adv. to a greater degree or extent

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 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。

3 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

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 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

6 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

10 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。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。