2006年VOA标准英语-Ex-US Congressman Says He Will Name Sexual Abus

By Cindy Saine Miami 18 October 2006 An attorney for ex-Congressman1 Mark Foley of Florida says his client will reveal the name of the Roman Catholic priest he says sexually abused him as a young boy. Foley abruptly2 resigned from the House of Representatives two weeks ago after he was confronted with sexually explicit3 messages he sent to young male congressional assistants. Many say that the scandal will hurt the Republican Party in elections November 7. ------ Mark Foley (file photo)           Former Congressman Mark Foley came up with another surprise late Tuesday, when his attorney told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida he would name the Roman Catholic priest he alleges4 sexually abused him as a youth. Foley's attorney, Gerald Richman, did not say when the name would be revealed, but he ruled out criminal charges against the priest: "There is no basis to file criminal charges because of a number of legal obstacles, one of which is the statute5 of limitations," he said. "We are talking about issues that happened 36 to 38 years ago." Two days after his resignation, the 12-year-congressman entered a rehabilitation6 facility for treatment of alcoholism. Another one of his attorneys announced that Foley is homosexual and that he had been abused by a clergyman as a teenager. Foley has denied any sexual contact with minors7. Richman said the priest who allegedly molested9 Foley is still alive, but it is unknown if he is still in south Florida or still involved in parish work. He said naming the priest would be part of the "healing process" for Foley. Reacting to the news, the Miami archdiocese spokesperson, Mary Ross Agosta, called for Foley to name the clergyman as soon as possible. "We need to know as quickly as possible for a few reasons," she said. "Number one is to help Mr. Foley on his journey. Number two, if it's a priest in active ministry10, we need to approach him about those allegations. Then we need to see if there have been any other victims of sexual abuse." Agosta said putting allegations out there without naming the priest unfairly puts a cloud of suspicion over all the priests who have served in south Florida. Fallout from the Foley scandal is still affecting congressional races across the country. In Washington, the House ethics11 committee is investigating Foley's actions to determine whether any government officials covered up his alleged8 misconduct. In his former district, Mark Foley's name will appear on ballots12 because it was too late to change them, but votes for him will go to his Republican replacement13, Joe Negron.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

5 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

6 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

7 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 molested   

v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童，进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

12 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。