VOA标准英语2010年-US Congresswomen Serving in the House,

Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney, Melissa Bean and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all Democrats¹, share a house in a neighborhood near the US Capitol

There are more than 430 members in the U.S. House of Representatives, but only 73 of them are women. Many of these women left behind family and friends to represent their districts in the U.S. Congress.  The congresswomen who live together share not only a high-powered career in politics, but also family and motherhood.

It's eight in the evening and the end of a hectic² day at the house of Carolyn Maloney, Melissa Bean and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all Democrats, in a neighborhood near the U.S. Capitol.  For five years, the three women have shared a house and their lives while serving in one of the most prominent and fast-paced careers in Washington.  Carolyn Maloney, a congresswoman since 1993 owns the home they share. She bought it after living alone in an apartment for more than a decade.

"When I bought this house I thought I would like to be like the Founding Fathers. When they first were elected they lived in rooming houses and got together for dinner and shared ideas.  So I looked for two roommates that were compatible³ and found Debbie Wasserman Shultz from Florida, from the South, and Melissa Bean from the West, from Illinois, and I am from the East, New York, so we are from different sections of the country, but we were all mothers and had been elected officials and have a great deal in common," said Maloney.

The roommates work and live in Washington during the week and commute⁴ to their home states and families on weekends.  Melissa Bean and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are married and still have children at home.  Carolyn Maloney has grown children.  Wasserman Schultz says the greatest bonus of having roommates is the friendship - and a warm environment to go back to at the end of the day.

"This is a rough-and-tumble place and it's nice to come back to two people who care about me, who care about my success, who care about the difficulties I might be having either at work or at home and just to have two friends who are a sounding board," said Wasserman Shultz.

In 2007, Wasserman Schultz learned how important it was to have a support group, when she was diagnosed⁵ with breast cancer.  She went public with her diagnosis⁶ last year, and is cancer-free today.  Carolyn Maloney's own tragedy struck last September, when she learned that her husband of 31 years had died on a mountain trail, during an expedition to the Himalayas.

"My roommates were a source of great comfort and support to me during this time of great loss," said Maloney.  "We are all moms; we are all working moms so we share the challenges of balancing work and family and being there for our children. We share and support each other."

And if last year was an important year in their relationship, this year is crucial for their political careers. All three roommates are up for reelection in the fall, but Melissa Bean says even if one or more of them were to lose, that would not affect their friendship.

"All of us, whenever that happens will have lives beyond Congress and our friendships will endure," said Bean.  "And what's a little surprising about that is that you don't come to Congress to make friends because if you do, you're not coming to be independent and have your own mind and so what a great surprise it has been to make such great friends."

At the end of July, the roommates said goodbye, as they started summer recess⁷ and headed back to their home states to gear⁸ up for the fall re-election campaign.  They'll come back at the beginning of September and hope to share not only their summer experiences, but also another term in Congress, and another year rooming together.
 

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

3 compatible   

adj.兼容的；能和睦相处的，合得来的

参考例句：

• You should choose a roommate more compatible to your tastes.你应该挑个和你意气更相投的人同住一室。
• Health and hard work are compatible.健康与努力工作是一致的。

4 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

5 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

6 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

7 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

8 gear   

n.齿轮，传动装置，设备，衣服；vt.使适应

参考例句：

• We have to gear our lives to the new changes.我们必须使自己的生活适应新的变化。
• The teeth of the wheel gear into each other.齿轮互相啮合。