VOA标准英语2009-President Obama Delivers Address to Notre Dame G

U.S. President Barack Obama has delivered the commencement address to graduates of one of America's leading Roman Catholic universities, the University of Notre Dame¹ in Indiana. His visit and acceptance of an honorary degree angered religious protesters, who strongly disagree with Mr. Obama's support of abortion² rights and stem cell research.
　
President Barack Obama delivers a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, 17 May 2009

With several hundred anti-abortion protesters gathered outside Notre Dame's front gates, President Obama was greeted inside the Joyce Center on campus with long and thunderous applause. But his speech was interrupted a number of times by anti-abortion hecklers, with most graduating students drowning out the hecklers in support of Mr. Obama.

The president began his remarks by acknowleging the storm of controversy³ his visit caused with a dose of self-deprecating humor.

"I want to thank you for this honorary degree," said President Obama. "I know it has not been without controversy. I don't know if you're aware of this, but these honorary degrees are apparently⁴ pretty hard to come by. So far I'm only 1 for 2 as President."

Mr. Obama delivered his first commencement address as president to the University of Arizona several days ago. The university decided⁵ not to award him an honorary degree, saying his body of work is "not yet finished."

At Notre Dame Sunday, President Obama took on the issue that has dogged his visit and sharply divided and polarized Americans for decades - abortion. He called for people on both sides of the debate to keep an open mind and to stop demonizing each other.

"Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually⁶, it has both moral and spiritual dimensions," said Mr. Obama.

The president focused on action that both sides can agree on.

"So let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions⁷," he said. "Let's reduce unintended pregnancies⁸. Let's make adoption⁹ more available. Let's provide care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

In his speech, the president indicated he may be willing to cede¹⁰ some ground in the ongoing¹¹ political battle over abortion, calling for a "sensible conscience clause" to be included in any potential new freedom of choice legislation, so that doctors and nurses who oppose abortions cannot be forced to perform them.

Students who oppose abortion rights held an all-night prayer vigil on another part of the campus.

University policy kept non-student protesters outside the campus' gates. Conservative political activist¹² Alan Keyes explained his view of why many Catholics and other Christians¹³ were so upset by Notre Dame's decision to invite and honor Mr. Obama .

"Barack Obama is deeply committed to what [former Pope] John Paul [II]called the 'culture of death' and the murder of innocent children," said Alan Keyes.

The abortion issue is likely to remain in the spotlight¹⁴ as President Obama seeks to fill a vacancy¹⁵ on the Supreme¹⁶ Court left by the retirement¹⁷ this summer of Justice David Souter. In its 1973 "Roe¹⁸ versus¹⁹ Wade²⁰" decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual states may not ban abortion, but it did not end the political battle over the issue.

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

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 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

7 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

8 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

9 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

10 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 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。

15 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

18 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

19 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

20 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。