VOA慢速英语2019 教学时机：是否应该弹劾特朗普总统？

For just the fourth time in U.S. history, lawmakers are holding public hearings to debate the possible impeachment¹ of an American president.

美国议员将举行史上仅有的第四次公开听证会，以辩论弹劾一位美国总统的可能性。

The U.S. Constitution describes "impeachment" as a way for lawmakers in the House of Representatives to charge a government official with a crime. If they do, lawmakers in the Senate hold a trial to decide whether to remove the official from office.

美国宪法将“弹劾”表述为众议院议员起诉政府官员犯罪的一种方式。如果弹劾通过，参议院议员将举行审判以决定是否将该官员免职。

Since 1788, when the Constitution was adopted, only three other U.S. presidents faced impeachment. None has been removed from office.

自1788年宪法通过以来，只有另外3位美国总统面临了弹劾。他们无一被免职。

A ‘teachable moment' for students

学生们的“教学时机”

Official public hearings will begin Wednesday. Witnesses already have testified to several committees in closed-door hearings. They said they were concerned the president withheld² Congressional-approved military aid to Ukraine in exchange for information on his political opponent, Joe Biden.

官员公开听证会将于周三开始进行。证人们已经在闭门听证会上向数个委员会作证。证人们表示，他们担心川普总统扣押了国会批准的对乌克兰军事援助，来换取其政治对手乔·拜登的有关信息。

The president and his government deny wrongdoing, and have not agreed to requests for documents and witness interviews.

川普总统及其政府否认有不法行为，也没有同意提供文件和会见证人的要求。

Around the country, schools are using the impeachment investigation³ as a "teachable moment" for students. At a rural North Carolina high school, the fifteen-and sixteen-year-olds in Aedrin Albright's civics class had done their homework. They had read about impeachment in news stories. Now it was time to decide: Should President Donald Trump⁴ be impeached⁵?

美国各地的学校都将这次弹劾调查作为学生们的教学时机。在北卡罗纳州的一所乡村高中，爱德琳·奥尔布赖特的公民课上的一群十五六岁的孩子完成了他们的作业。他们已经阅读了有关弹劾的新闻报道。他们现在是时候裁定：应该对川普总统进行弹劾吗？

Students pulled their chairs across the room. The three who supported impeachment sat on one side. The fifteen students who opposed it sat on the other.

学生们把他们的椅子拉到教室的各个地方。支持弹劾的3名学生坐在一边。反对弹劾的15名学生坐在另一边。

The ten undecided students were in the middle.

10名没拿定主意的学生坐在中间。

"Your job is to try to persuade your classmates in here to come to your side, to your understanding," Albright told the teenagers at Chatham Central High School.

奥尔布赖特对查塔姆中央高中的这些少年们说：“你的任务是说服教室里的同学站到你一边，支持你的意见。”

Albright asked students to make their arguments using the news stories they had read. They could change sides, and the undecideds were urged to choose one.

奥尔布赖特要求学生们利用他们读过的新闻来论证。他们可以改变立场，并督促没拿定主意的学生做出决定。

Overall, the discussion went well, Albright said. The anti-impeachment side gained three more students. One student joined her pro-impeachment classmates. And six students remained undecided.

奥尔布赖特表示，这次辩论总的来说进行得很棒。反对弹劾的一方又赢得了3名学生的支持。有1名学生加入了支持弹劾的一方。剩下的6人仍然没拿定主意。

Their mock votes show the political divisions across the country. Voters in the area around the school mostly supported Trump in the 2016 election. Another area nearby voted for his opponent, Hillary Clinton. And many Americans – and lawmakers – already have strong opinions about the president and are unlikely to change their beliefs.

他们的这次模拟投票展示了美国各地的政治分歧。该校周边地区的选民在2016年大选中大多数都支持川普。附近另一个地区投票支持川普的对手希拉里·克林顿。许多美国人，包括议员都对总统有坚定的看法，不太可能改变他们的信念。

In another area of the country, St. Paul, Minnesota, Mark Westpfhal teaches at the Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented School. The school is located in "an extremely liberal" area, he said. Most of his students support Trump's impeachment and removal from office.

在美国的另一个地方，马克·韦斯特普法尔在明尼苏达州圣保罗市的国会山天才学校任教。他说，这所学校位于”一个非常政治开明”的地区。他大多数学生都支持弹劾川普并将他免职。

In September, Westpfhal put together a three-day impeachment lesson for the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds in his American studies class. He required his students to differentiate⁶ between what they believe and what they know about the president's actions.

今年9月份，韦斯特普法尔在他的美国研究课上，为这些十二三岁的学生组织了一轮为期三天的弹劾课程。他要求学生们将他们的信仰与他们对总统行为的认识区分开来。

They were "quick to argue that he has done so many illegal things," Westpfhal said. "But when I asked them to describe the things he has done and how those things violated the law, they slowed down a little."

他们“很快就辩称川普总统做了很多非法的事情，”韦斯特普法尔表示，“但是当我要求他们说出川普总统做过什么，以及这些事怎么违反法律时，他们就慢了下来。”

Westpfhal often brings current events into his lesson plans. He said his class discusses "how emotion and partisanship⁷" can dictate⁸, or control, people's views.

韦斯特普法尔经常将时事纳入他的教学计划。他说，他的班级讨论了“情感和党派关系”如何决定或控制人们的观点。

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 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

7 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

8 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？