VOA常速英语2008年-Obama Strongly Denounces Former Pastor Wright

By Cindy Saine
Washington
29 April 2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has strongly denounced his controversial former pastor¹, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, saying he is outraged² and saddened by Wright's latest comments.  Senator Obama had come under increasing pressure to put more distance between himself and Wright after several high-profile appearances by the minister over the past several days.  VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. 

Senator Obama reacted to Reverend Wright's latest comments at a news conference Tuesday, seeking to put an end to the controversy³ over his fiery⁴ pastor, which has threatened to seriously undermine his presidential campaign.

"I am outraged by the comments that were made, and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday," he said.  "You know, I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992.  I have known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years.  The person I saw yesterday was not the person I met 20 years ago."

Senator Obama said, as the son of a white mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, his whole life has been about bridging racial and regional gaps, and encouraging people to work together.  He said Wright's message sought to exploit racial differences, and that it goes against everything his campaign stands for.

Videoclips from some of Wright's sermons emerged in March, with potentially explosive material for Obama's opponents to use against him.

Wright asserted that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks may have been in retaliation⁵ for U.S. foreign policy.  In one of his sermons he said God should "damn" America for its treatment of African Americans.  Wright also suggested the U.S. government created the HIV/AIDS virus to kill black people.

At Tuesday's news conference, Obama explicitly⁶ rejected Wright's statements as "ridiculous."  He said he was particularly angry that Wright suggested he was only distancing himself from the comments for political purposes.

"And if Reverend Wright thinks that is 'political posturing⁷', as he put it, then he does not know me very well," he added.  "And based on his remarks yesterday, I may not know him as well as I thought either."

During a speech last month in Philadelphia, Senator Obama had condemned⁸ Wright's comments, but had said he could not disown the man who has been his pastor for 20 years, officiated his marriage ceremony and baptized his two young daughters.  Tuesday, Obama said he no longer felt he knew the man.

Reverend Wright's return to the spotlight⁹ has distracted Senator Obama from focusing on gas prices and other economic issues as he campaigns hard in North Carolina and Indiana ahead of critical primaries against opponent Senator Hillary Clinton next Tuesday.  Senator Clinton spent her time Tuesday in Indiana, doing just that, talking about high gas prices.  She also won a key endorsement¹⁰ from North Carolina Governor Mike Easley.

1 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

5 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

8 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。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 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。