VOA标准英语2010年-Former French PM Acquitted of Slanderi

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has been acquitted¹ on charges of orchestrating a smear² campaign against President Nicolas Sarkozy.  The verdict opens the path for Mr. de Villepin's political return.

In a statement following the verdict, Mr. de Villepin saluted³ the Paris court that delivered the judgment⁴ for its courage in allowing justice to prevail over politics.

Mr. de Villepin said he bore no grudge⁵ or bitterness and he wanted to turn the page on an incident that had blemished⁶ the image of politics and his own career.  He said he wanted to look toward the future and to serve France and the French people.  Several other defendants⁷ were convicted on a variety of charges and another was acquitted.

Once considered a possible successor to former-president Jacques Chirac, Mr. de Villepin was accused of complicity in slander⁸ and forgery⁹ in a tangled¹⁰ case involving bogus kickback¹¹ accounts.  The fake accounts were part of a larger campaign to smear the image of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other top political figures.

At the time the scandal unfolded, in 2004, Mr. Sarkozy and Mr. de Villepin were considered top rivals to succeed President Chirac. Ultimately, Mr. Sarkozy ran for president and won in 2007.

In its ruling, the court found Mr. de Villepin was in fact a victim, rather than an instigator¹² of the smear campaign.  Mr. Sarkozy said in a statement he was satisfied with the ruling.

Mr. de Villepin's acquittal opens up prospects¹³ for his political return - including a possible run for the presidency¹⁴ in 2012.  Mr. Sarkozy, who turned 55 on Thursday, is struggling against low approval ratings as he tries to revive France's economy.

1 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

2 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

3 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

5 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

6 blemished   

v.有损…的完美，玷污( blemish的过去式 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by that article. 他的名声被那篇文章玷污了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The scandal has blemished her shining reputation. 这件丑闻损害了她辉煌的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

9 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

10 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

11 kickback   

n.酬金；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Mike got a kickback from a merchant.麦克从商人那里得到了回扣。
• The company had to kickback a lot to the corrupt officer.这家公司必须给腐败的政府官员很大一笔佣金。

12 instigator   

n.煽动者

参考例句：

• It is not a and differs from instigator in nature. 在刑法理论中，通常将教唆犯作为共犯的一种类型加以探究。 来自互联网
• If we are really the instigator, we are awaiting punishment. 如果我们真的是煽动者，那我们愿意接受惩罚。 来自互联网

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 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。