VOA慢速英语--国会议员将在暴徒闯入后调查国会警察

Lawmakers are promising¹ to investigate the way law enforcement dealt with Wednesday's violent breach² at the United States Capitol. They want to know why the Capitol Police were not prepared for the mob that occupied and vandalized the building. The mob was formed by supporters of President Donald Trump³.

Congress buildings are protected by U.S. Capitol Police. On Wednesday, they turned to the District of Columbia police force and others for help with the mob that entered the Capitol and sent lawmakers into hiding. Police used tear gas to get mob members out of the building. The Congress was finally secured Wednesday evening.

Four people died, one of them a woman who was shot and killed by police inside the Capitol. Three other people died after suffering "medical emergencies" related to the breach, said Robert Contee. He is the chief of the city's Metropolitan⁴ Police Department.

Police said at least 52 people were arrested, including 26 on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Fourteen police officers were injured, Contee said.

Representative Zoe Lofgren is chairwoman of the House Administration Committee. She said the breach raises serious "security concerns.″ She added that her committee will work with House and Senate leaders to examine the way the police planned, or did not plan, for the arrival of the protestors.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said: "We spend billions of dollars on national security and today failed to protect our Nation's Capital from a lawless mob. Unacceptable!"

Lawmakers hid under desks and wore gas masks while police tried and failed to stop members of the mob from entering the building. The Trump supporters had marched to the Capitol from the White House, where they had attended a rally where Trump spoke⁵.

Washington's mayor announced an evening curfew in an attempt to stop the violence.

Representative Val Demings is a former police chief. She said it was clear that Capitol police "were not prepared for today." She added that the police force should have had "a designated area for the protesters in a safe distance from the Capitol.″

In an interview on American television Wednesday night, Demings said it appeared there were not enough police to control the thousands of protestors who arrived at the Capitol. The event followed Trump's continued, baseless claims of a "rigged election.″

Trump encouraged the protestors, whom he had urged to come to Washington to protest Congress's official approval of the election of President-elect Joe Biden. Trump has spent weeks falsely attacking Biden's victory.

"We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue ... and we're going to the Capitol ... we're going to try and give our Republicans ... the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country," Trump told the crowd before it marched to the Capitol.

The protests delayed Congress for nearly seven hours. The mob broke windows, entered both the Senate and House chambers⁶ and went into the offices of lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat⁷.

Congresswoman Karen Bass⁸ said she was angry about a photo on social media that showed a Capitol Police officer taking a picture with a protestor.

"Would you take a selfie with someone who was robbing a bank?" she asked. She also said that if protestors had been members of the Black Lives Matter movement the police would have been ready, and many more protestors would have been arrested.

Representative Tim Ryan said the incident would likely lead to leadership changes at the Capitol Police.

"I think it's pretty clear that there's going to be a number of people who are going to be without employment very, very soon," Ryan said. He added that there was a lack of "professional planning" for a protest that police knew was going to take place.

Words in This Story

breach – v. an occurrence in which someone is able to get into a place that is guarded or is able to get secret information

vandalize – v. to deliberately⁹ destroy or damage property

mask – n. a face covering

designate – v. to mark, show, or represent

rig – v. to control or affect (something, such as a game or election) in a dishonest way in order to get a desired result

encourage – v. to make (someone) more determined¹⁰, hopeful, or confident

pride – n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people

bold – adj. not afraid of danger or difficult situations

selfie – n. taking a photo of oneself

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

3 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。

4 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

5 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。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。