VOA标准英语2013--US Congressional Vote On Syria Faces Tough Road

 

US Congressional Vote On Syria Faces Tough Road 

CAPITOL HILL  The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has begun considering whether to authorize¹ U.S. military force against Syria in response to last month's chemical attack that killed more than a thousand people.  Experts said estimates of how the 435 members of the House are likely to vote show that President Barack Obama may face his toughest legislative² battle yet - and one with the highest stakes for U.S. credibility. 

Referring to the horrific images of the chemical weapons attack, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told committee members that the world is watching. The world is not just watching to see what we decide here, but the world is really watching to see how we decide, frankly³, whether or not we can still make or achieve a single voice speaking for the United States of America, Kerry said.

The committee's ranking Democratic member, Congressman⁴ Eliot Engel, agreed. The issue we confront today is much bigger than the use of chemical weapons in Syria. We are talking about the credibility of America as a global power, he said.

But some members, including Republican Michael McCaul of Texas, voiced concern about authorizing⁵ military action because of the make-up of the Syrian rebels. My concern is that any strike against this regime, as bad as it is, will empower these radical⁶ Islamists, these extremists, and we have seen this movie before, he noted⁷.

Political analyst⁸ Stuart Rothenberg said informal tallies⁹ of House members suggest that a resolution authorizing military force will be difficult, but not impossible, to pass.

"Presidents have a way of twisting arms and begging and pleading and promising¹⁰ right before a vote," he said. "And they often succeed narrowly.  But this is not, not, a foregone conclusion."

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said he will vote for the resolution, and called on members to join him.  But Boehner has faced repeated uprisings among his ranks.

"This is not party line government where the Republican leader of the House simply says vote this way and the rank and file do.  In fact, these days, whatever Boehner says, you can count on 30 or 40 House Republicans doing the exact opposite," stated Rothenberg.

Rothenberg said we are likely to see unexpected coalitions¹²."This is one of those odd cases where you are going to have a very confusing coalition¹¹, with isolationist, libertarian Republicans joining very liberal Democrats¹³ who traditionally oppose additional spending on military and defense¹⁴ - those two groups coming together to oppose giving the president authority to strike Syria," he explained. "And you are going to have a mixture of Republicans and Democrats, many moderates, but also a handful of strong liberals and strong conservatives supporting the president."

The world will likely be watching when the full House and Senate return to the Capitol next week to focus on Syria. 

1 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

12 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

13 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》

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。