VOA常速英语2013--美国退伍军人敦促立法者结束政府关闭

 

US Veterans Urge Lawmakers to End Shutdown 美国退伍军人敦促立法者结束政府关闭

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government remains¹ shut down in a partial closure that has put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work, at least temporarily. Lawmakers have yet to reach common ground, and that means many federal workers stay home and national parks, monuments and museums stay closed.  Some vocal² veterans’ groups visited Washington over the weekend to protest the closures. But they were not the only ones there. Seeking their place in the spotlight⁵ were lawmakers aligned⁶ with the “Tea Party,” a group of lawmakers within the Republican Party vehemently⁷ opposed to compromising with Democrats⁸ on matters of budget.

The Million Veterans March-as it was called-was supposed to be a peaceful call for an end to the government shutdown now threatening many veterans' benefits.

百万退伍军人游行，正如其名被认为是一次结束现在威胁到许多退伍军人福利政府关闭的和平呼吁。

But that changed on Sunday when Tea Party politicians took the stage.

但一切在周日茶党政治家走上舞台时变了味道。

Among them was Senator Ted³ Cruz.

参议员泰德·克鲁兹就身在其中。

“Let me ask a simple question.

“让我问一个简单的问题。

Why is the federal government spending money to erect⁹ barricades¹⁰ to keep veterans out of this memorial?” asked Cruz.

为什么联邦政府花费财力设置路障让退伍军人离开纪念馆?”克鲁兹问道。

Protestors tore down barricades and carried them to the White House where they tossed them in front of the gates and shouted slogans against the president.

于是抗议者们拆除路障得以来到白宫,他们在大门前高喊反对总统的口号。

“Obama's got to go! Obama's got to go!” they yelled.

“奥巴马下台!奥巴马下台!“他们喊道。

Critics of the rally say that it became more about Tea Party politics than about the plight¹¹ of veterans.

批评人士表示这次集会更多是关于茶党政治而非处境艰难的退伍军人。

But on Tuesday, at the World War Two Memorial, several veterans' groups rallied for their benefits; not politics.

但在周二在二战世界大战纪念馆中一些退伍军人团体集合为自身利益声讨,而非出于政治目的。

Retired¹² Marine¹³ Ken⁴ Hopper was one of them.

退役海军肯·赫普尔就是其中之一。

“It's time to end the nonsense.

“是时候让胡闹结束。

It's time to remember their obligations.

是时候让他们将自己的义务铭记在心。

These are representatives elected by the people, and they should remember that they serve the people instead of serving themselves,” said Hopper.

这些由人民选出的代表应该记住服务于人民,而不是为自己谋利。”赫普尔说道。

The group was joined by Iraq war veteran Ray Kelley.

伊拉克战争老兵雷·凯利也加入到了该集团。

“It is time that Congress starts the government again.

“现在是时候让国会再一次重新恢复政府。

Veterans paid a price.

退伍军人付出了代价。

Promises were made to them that if they serve our country, that our country will take care of them.

他们作出了如果他们为国效忠,国家将会照顾他们承诺。

We're failing in that mission,” said Kelley.

我们不能有辱使命,”凯利说道。

Death benefits are paid to families of fallen soldiers, but due to the shutdown, those payments may take longer than normal.

抚恤金应该发放给阵亡士兵的家属,但由于政府关闭,这笔钱可能需要更长时间才能到手。

Joann Fischer is a post commander for the Disabled American Veterans.

乔安·费舍尔是美国伤残退伍军人的助理指挥官。

“By doing this it has caused catastrophic problems for all of our veterans. Our old, our young, our men, our women and our families.

“这样做对我们所有的退伍军人造成灾难性的问题。我们的老人,我们的年轻人,我们的男人，女人及我们的家庭。

Congress, get it together, today. Not tomorrow. Today.

国会今天就要在一起讨论这个问题。不是明天。就在今天。

Now. Something has to be done,” said Fischer.

现在有些事情必须要做,”费舍尔说道。

And now some veterans, like Gary Benenati, fear they'll lose their disability benefits, too.

而现在像加里·本那迪这样的一些老兵担心他们也会失去自己的残疾福利。

“Look at your children in the face.

“看看你孩子的脸。

Just sit down and look at them in the face, and try to imagine telling them you don't have money to feed them.

只是坐下来,看看他们,试着去想象,告诉他们你没有钱养活他们。

Try to do that, and then you'll know what it's like to be a disabled veteran without his Check,” said Benenati.

试试看,然后你就会明白没有福利残疾老兵会是何窘境。”本那迪说道。

His message was something that resonated well in the crowd-a feeling that benefits guaranteed by the government now hang in jeopardy¹⁴.

他所表达的在人群中引起了共鸣，大家感到由政府担保的福利现在置于危险之中。

Craig Meinhardt is with the Army National Guard.

克雷格·梅茵哈特是陆军国民警卫队中的一员。

“We give up our lives.

“我们不顾自己的性命。

I've lost several brothers in these wars in these last ten years that I've served with.

在我服役最后十年的这些战争中我已经失去了很多好兄弟。

If our government doesn't care enough to make sure that we're taken care of, why are we doing it?” asked Meinhardt.

如果我们的政府不关心足以确保我们得到照顾,我们这样做价值究竟何在?” 梅茵哈特质问道。

Congressional lawmakers remain deadlocked¹⁵ on the shutdown issue, and with the looming¹⁶ issue of the debt ceiling just a few short days away, the country may need to brace¹⁷ itself for the next hit.

国会议员们就政府关闭问题仍然深陷僵局之中,而迫在眉睫的债务上限问题仅在短短数天的时间之内,这个国家可能需要做好准备应对接下来的打击。

1 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。

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

7 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

8 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》

9 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

10 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

11 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

12 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。

13 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

15 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

16 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

17 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。