2007年VOA标准英语-Ford Praised As Courageous Healer in Washington

By Jim Malone
Washington
02 January 2007

 
State Funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral for former President Gerald R. Ford², 2 Jan. 2007
Official Washington bid farewell to former President Gerald Ford on Tuesday.  Mr. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, was honored at the National Cathedral in Washington following his death a week ago in California at the age of 93.  VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has more on the Ford funeral from Washington.

After lying in state in the Capitol building for the past few days, Gerald Ford's casket was taken by motorcade through the streets of Washington to the National Cathedral for a funeral service attended by about 3,000 mourners that included President Bush and the three living former presidents, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

 
US President George W. Bush speaks at the memorial service for former president Gerald R. Ford, 02 Jan 2007
In his eulogy³, President Bush paid tribute to Gerald Ford as representing the best of America and a man who brought calm and healing to the nation when he assumed the presidency⁴ in the wake of President Richard Nixon's resignation in August of 1974.  

"Gerald Ford assumed the presidency when the nation needed a leader of character and humility⁵, and we found it in the man from Grand Rapids [Michigan]," Mr. Bush says. "President Ford's time in office was brief, but history will long remember the courage and common sense that helped restore trust in the workings of democracy."

 
Henry Kissinger, left, Donald Rumsfeld, Alan Greenspan and James Baker⁶ are seen participating in funeral services for former President Gerald R. Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington, 2 Jan. 2007
There was praise as well from Mr. Ford's former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.  Kissinger noted⁷ Mr. Ford's leadership in reaching arms control and human rights agreements with the former Soviet⁸ Union and his role in helping⁹ to bring black majority rule to southern Africa.

"Few will dispute that the Cold War could not have been won had not Gerald Ford emerged at a tragic¹⁰ period to restore equilibrium¹¹ to America and confidence in its international role," Kissinger says.

As his widow Betty and children looked on, Gerald Ford was hailed for the tone of reconciliation¹² he fostered upon assuming the presidency in the wake of the Nixon resignation and the Watergate scandal that forced Mr. Nixon to leave office.

Gerald Ford served in Congress for 25 years before Mr. Nixon asked him to be vice¹ president following the resignation of Spiro Agnew in 1973.

Mr. Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon was mentioned several times as a politically courageous¹³ act that, while condemned¹⁴ at the time, is now seen as an important step in healing the nation.

Former NBC television anchorman Tom Brokaw was among those paying tribute.  Brokaw said Mr. Ford's attitude toward the press was in sharp contrast to the antagonistic¹⁵ relationship that grew between reporters and President Nixon.

"Even when we challenged his policies and taxed his patience with our constant presence and persistence¹⁶, we could be adversaries¹⁷ but we were never his enemy, and that was a welcome change in status from his predecessor's time," Brokaw says.

The Ford presidency lasted only 2.5 years.  Many historians believe that negative reaction to the Nixon pardon cost Mr. Ford the 1976 election against Democrat¹⁸ Jimmy Carter.

 
Former President George H. W. Bush participates in funeral services for former President Gerald R. Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington, Tuesday, 2 Jan. 2007
Former President George H.W. Bush served as President Ford's CIA director during his time in office.  Mr. Bush said Gerald Ford's efforts to heal the wounds of Watergate in the aftermath of Richard Nixon's fall from power will be long remembered as one of his greatest contributions.

"As Americans, we generally eschew¹⁹ notions of the indispensable man.  And yet, during those traumatic times, few if any of our public leaders could have stepped into the breach²⁰ and rekindled²¹ our national faith as did President Gerald R. Ford," former president Bush says.

That is a view shared by American University presidential historian Allan Lichtman.  He appeared on VOA's Talk to America program.

 
Gerald R. Ford (File)
"He was open, he was candid²², he was down to earth," Lichtman says. "This was what the country needed after the twisted brilliance²³ of Richard Nixon and the imperial presidency that Nixon had tried to establish, and of course, the many crimes of Watergate."

Former President Ford will be buried in a private ceremony Wednesday near his presidential museum in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

11 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

12 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

13 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

14 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

15 antagonistic   

adj.敌对的

参考例句：

• He is always antagonistic towards new ideas.他对新思想总是持反对态度。
• They merely stirred in a nervous and wholly antagonistic way.他们只是神经质地，带着完全敌对情绪地骚动了一下。

16 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

17 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

18 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。

19 eschew   

v.避开，戒绝

参考例句：

• Eschew fattening foods if you want to lose weight.你如想减肥，就不要吃致肥的食物。
• Good kid should eschew bad company.好孩子应避免交坏朋友。

20 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。

21 rekindled   

v.使再燃( rekindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• As soon as they met again his dormant love for her was rekindled. 他们一见面，他对她的旧情如乾柴烈火般又重新燃起。 来自辞典例句
• Ive found rekindled my interest in re-reading the books. 我发觉这提起了我再次阅读这些书的兴趣。 来自互联网

22 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

23 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。