美洲－美国参议院争论赖斯任命

 

US Senate Debates Rice Nomination¹

 

The U.S. Senate has begun debate on the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of State.  Opposition² Democrats⁴ are using the occasion to criticize the administration's Iraq policy.

 

Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opened the debate with a ringing endorsement⁵ of Ms. Rice, who served as President Bush's National Security Adviser⁶ in his first term.

 

Mr. Lugar: American credibility in the world, progress in the war on terrorism, and our relationships with our allies will be greatly affected⁷ by the Secretary of State's actions, and the effectiveness of the State Department in the coming years. Dr. Rice is highly qualified⁹ to meet those challenges.

 

But some Democrats argued Ms. Rice misled the nation in making the case for war in Iraq in front of the invasion.  Ms. Rice and others in the administration cited weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as the key justification¹⁰ for war, though none has ever been found.

 

Senator Ted⁸ Kennedy of Massachusetts, a long-time critic of the administration's Iraq policy, says he will vote against Ms. Rice's nomination.

 

Mr. Kennedy: Dr. Rice was a key member of the National Security team that developed and justified¹¹ the rationale for war, and it has been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire¹². In these circumstances, she should not be promoted to Secretary of State.

 

Another Democrat³ who voted in favor of the war agrees. Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana says he also will oppose Ms. Rice's nomination because, as he put it, he cannot support the promotion¹³ of someone who promises only more of the same failed policy in Iraq.

 

Evan Bayh: Those in charge must be held accountable for mistakes. We must learn from them, correct them so that we may succeed in Iraq. [Senate] President, if the President of the United States will not do this, then those in the Senate must.

 

But other Democrats see it differently. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, another supporter of the war with Iraq, will vote to confirm Ms. Rice.

 

Mr. Lieberman: One of the great strengths that Condoleezza Rice will bring to the office of Secretary of State is that the world knows she has the President's trust and confidence.

 

Senator Lieberman spoke¹⁴ for most lawmakers.  Despite opposition from some Democrats, the Senate is expected to easily confirm Ms. Rice to succeed Secretary of State Colin Powell in a vote scheduled for Wednesday.

 

Deborah Tate, VOA News, Capitol Hill.

 

 

注释:

Senate Foreign Relations Committee 参议院外交委员会

endorsement [in5dC:smEnt] n.认可，批准

allies [5Alaiz] n. 同盟者

effectiveness [i5fektivnis] n. 效力

invasion [in5veiVEn] n. 入侵

destruction [dis5trQkFEn] n. 破坏

justification [dVQstifi5keiF(E)n] n. 理由

rationale [7rAFE5nB:li] n. 根本原因

Connecticut [kE5netikEt] n. 康涅狄格

 

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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》

5 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 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。

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

11 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

12 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

13 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

14 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。