VOA标准英语2012--US Media, Historians Mark 40th Anniversary of Watergate Scandal

 

US Media, Historians Mark 40th Anniversary of Watergate Scandal

Start of a scandal

It began in the early morning hours of June 17, 1972. Five men working for President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign were arrested trying to break in to Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex.

Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward covered the story and found that the Watergate break-in was only part of an elaborate program launched by the Nixon re-election campaign to undermine the president’s political opponents.

“We named people in specific acts of participation¹ in a criminal conspiracy² essentially³ to destroy the free electoral system we have in this country to spy and sabotage⁴ on the Democrats,” said Woodward.

Criminal and congressional investigations⁵ followed the Post reporting and found a massive cover-up orchestrated by the Nixon campaign and the White House, right up to the president himself.

During Senate hearings in 1973, it came to light that Nixon recorded his conversations in the White House, and those tapes eventually helped to prove Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up.

The most dramatic thing

VOA’s David Dyar covered the Watergate scandal as a young reporter for United Press International, including President Nixon’s decision to order the firing of the Watergate special prosecutor⁶ in 1973.

“When I was hearing all this unfold in the White House briefing room, there was a sense among many there that something truly historic had happened and that the president was putting himself above the law and that the entire constitutional fabric⁷ of the justice system in the country was being challenged," said Dyar. "It was the most dramatic thing I have ever witnessed firsthand as a reporter.”

Once the White House tapes showed Nixon’s complicity in the cover-up, the president lost his base of Republican Party support in Congress and he announced his resignation in August of 1974.

“I have never been a quitter," said Nixon. "To leave office before my term is completely is abhorrent⁸ to every instinct in my body. But as president I must put the interests of America first.”

"Long national nightmare is over"

Nixon’s vice⁹ president, Gerald Ford¹⁰, was sworn in after Nixon left and moved quickly to heal a divided country.

“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over," said Ford. "Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.”

American University historian Allan Lichtman says Watergate remains¹¹ the most serious attempt by a president and his staff to undermine the democratic process.

“It was a widespread conspiracy," Lichtman said. "Several dozen people went to jail, including other very high officials of the [Nixon] campaign and of the Nixon administration. So a lot of people who should have known much better got sucked into this terrible scandal and it is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions because in many ways Richard Nixon did a lot for the country.”

"Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them"

Before he left the White House, Nixon gave an emotional speech to staffers and then concluded with what struck many as an ironic¹² piece of advice.

“Always remember, others may hate you," he said. "But those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself.”

Some 40 years later, the Watergate scandal is seen not only as a victory for the democratic process but also as a defining example of the importance of a free press in a democratic society.

1 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

8 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。