2007年VOA标准英语-Grand Rapids Pays Tribute to Local Hero: Gerald

By Michael Bowman
Grand Rapids
02 January 2007

The body of former President Gerald Ford¹ has arrived in his home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan, after a state funeral Tuesday in Washington. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, residents turned out in large numbers to pay their final respects to a local hero.

 
Memorial service for former President Gerald R. Ford at presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2 Jan 2007
The casket containing the body of President Ford arrived in Grand Rapids amid a formal military ceremony, and was then transported in a 75-car motorcade through the city. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets in quiet reverence² to catch a glimpse of the hearse as it passed by, including large contingents³ of military veterans and Boy Scouts⁵. Gerald Ford fought in the Pacific during World War II and was an Eagle Scout⁴ in his youth.

President Ford's casket is in public repose⁶ at his presidential museum in downtown Grand Rapids. It will remain there until midday Wednesday, when it will be transported to a local Episcopalian church for a private service. Burial will follow at the presidential museum.

 
President Ford announces his decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon, 8 Sept 1974
Ever since his death last week at the age of 93, local residents have been reflecting on the life of Gerald Ford, a long-serving Michigan congressman⁷ who rose to the presidency⁸ when Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal.

Grand Rapids resident Mary Beth Bott says President Ford's life was and remains⁹ a matter of great pride for the area.

"He wasn't elected to the presidency, he inherited it," she said. "He had to step up [rise to a challenge]. It was something he never intended to do [becoming president]. He always seemed like a regular guy, and that is what I really liked about him. He seemed very human."

President Ford was perhaps best known for pardoning his predecessor¹⁰, Richard Nixon, a move that cost him politically, but has since been recognized as an important step in America's recovery from the Watergate era.

"President Ford become president at a very difficult and challenging time for this nation," said local resident Sharon Hartlein. "It was a time when things could have gone from bad to worse. And instead of that happening, because of him the nation was healed to a degree that probably would not have happened if the new president had been someone with less integrity, less honesty, and less compassion¹¹ and caring for the country."

"Honesty," "integrity," and "decency¹²" are words this reporter has heard over and over as people in Grand Rapids describe their impressions of President Ford. People say those values were sorely needed at the time when Gerald Ford became president, and residents here say they are proud that their city gave the nation a man who embodied¹³ those values in an hour of need.

1 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。

2 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

3 contingents   

（志趣相投、尤指来自同一地方的）一组与会者( contingent的名词复数 )； 代表团； （军队的）分遣队； 小分队

参考例句：

• We were forced to rely on French contingents. 我们势必被迫依恃法国驻军。
• The internal security forces are composed of contingents and mobile divisions. 内卫部队由各总队和机动师组成。

4 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

7 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。

8 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。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

11 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

12 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

13 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》