VOA标准英语2011--Fraud Hunters Unmask Military Imposters

Fraud Hunters Unmask Military Imposters

If you were to attend a parade or musical celebration of the 235th anniversary of Americans' declaration of independence today, you'd likely see lots of men and women in the uniforms of the United States military.
Almost all of them are serving their country honorably and well. But a tiny percentage aren't servicemen and women at all, or are wearing medals and other decorations that they did not earn. "Stolen valor," some call such behavior.
Even prominent men and women have lied about their military service or decorations. And a good many of them have been exposed by a cadre of veterans who keep a look-out for imposters - particularly at holiday gatherings¹ such as those on the 4th of July.
One of the most determined² military fraud hunters is Larry Bailey of Mount Vernon, Virginia. He is a retired³ Navy captain and SEAL. That's the same elite⁴ Navy parachute and demolitions⁵ unit that swooped⁶ down and killed al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸ in May.
Over several years, Bailey, who regretfully concludes that military fakery is rampant⁹, has exposed a rogues¹⁰' gallery of military masqueraders that has included corporate¹¹ executives and members of Congress.
Some fakers did serve their nation honorably but could not resist dressing¹² up their records with claims of battles they never fought, medals they never won, or tortures they never endured.
For example, Bailey points to Joseph Ellis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who admitted embellishing¹³ his resume by claiming to have served as a platoon leader in Vietnam. In truth, he spent the war at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, teaching history.
And a few years ago, Los Angeles, California, Superior Court Judge Patrick Couwenberg was removed from the bench after falsely claiming to be a decorated Vietnam War veteran who worked undercover in Laos for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Bailey says men often make up heroic war stories to impress women, to puff¹⁴ up their job credentials¹⁵ or because they think it will inspire youngsters such as Boy Scouts¹⁶ and military recruits. He says some people have lived their falsehoods so long that they could pass lie-detector tests about their stories.

1 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 demolitions   

n.毁坏，破坏，拆毁( demolition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Randy Couture as Toll Road, an Expendable and demolitions expert. 大卫·萨亚斯饰演加尔扎将军，邪恶的独裁者。 来自互联网
• Allied Demolitions upgrade moved one slot to the left on the Allied HQ UI. 盟军的爆破升级在指挥部界面中左移一格（由于现在没钳子升级了，所以填钳子的位置）。 来自互联网

6 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

10 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

13 embellishing   

v.美化( embellish的现在分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• He kept embellishing it in his mind, building up the laughs. 他在心里不断地为它添油加醋，增加笑料。 来自辞典例句
• Bumper's each angle is embellishing the small air vent, manifested complete bikes's width to increase. 保险杠的每个角都点缀着小的通风孔，体现了整车的宽度增加。 来自互联网

14 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

15 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

16 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。