经济学人:巴西政治丑闻:特梅尔生气了(1)

 　　The Americas 美洲

　　Brazil's Political Scandal: Temer tantrum 巴西政治丑闻：特梅尔生气了

　　Bribery¹ charges will not bring down the president just yet. 受贿指控并不会导致总统下台。

　　Ever since an audio recording² emerged in May of Brazil's president, Michel Temer, seeming to discuss paying hush³ money and backhanders,  自从一段有关巴西总统谈论“封口费”和“贿赂”的录音在五月被公布后，

　　the country's zealous⁴ prosecutors⁶ have been expected to pounce⁷. 巴西总检察长Rodrigo Janot一直想逮捕Michel Temer。

　　Even so, the decision by Rodrigo Janot, the chief prosecutor⁵, on June 26th to charge Mr Temer with bribe-taking was momentous⁸. 即便如此，6月26日，总检察长Rodrigo Janot以受贿罪指控Temer 先生还是重要的。

　　It is the first such charge against a sitting president. 因为这是自上世纪80年代巴西恢复民主制以来，首位在任总统面临刑事指控。

　　Mr Janot bases his accusations⁹ on the tape and testimony¹⁰ of Joesley Batista, the billionaire businessman who secretly recorded it. Janot先生对总统的指控是基于那段录音和Joesley Batista（巴西肉类加工巨头JBS董事长，身家亿万）的证词，那段录音是Joesley Batista与总统Temer 先生交谈时的秘密录音。

　　These resulted in a sting operation in which Rodrigo Loures, a former aide to Mr Temer, was filmed receiving 500,000 reais ($159,000) from Mr Batista's envoy¹¹,  而之后针对此事件进行的盯梢行动中，也觉察到Temer前助手Rodrigo Loures非法收受50万雷亚尔（约15.9万美元）的贿款，

　　allegedly for interceding¹² with the antitrust agency on his firm's behalf. 据说是以公司名义与反垄断机构斡旋所出的调解费。

　　Mr Janot suspects that the cash, plus another 38m reais promised by Mr Batista, was in fact meant for Mr Temer. Janot 先生怀疑事实上那50万雷亚尔和额外的3800万雷亚尔是Batista先生想给总统的。

　　The president protests his innocence¹³ and points out that his relationship with Mr Loures is all that links him to the payoff. 总统表示他并没有收受贿赂，并指出他与Loures先生只有工作往来。

　　Even before the charges Mr Temer's administration was the most unpopular on record, with an approval rating of just 7%. 在此次指控之前，Temer政府仅仅只有7%的支持率，这也是历史上最不受欢迎的一届政府了。

　　In June he narrowly held on to office when the electoral tribunal ruled to clear him and Dilma Rousseff,  6月，选举法庭才撤销了针对Temer和前总统 Dilma Rousseff

　　under whom he served as vice-president before her impeachment¹⁴ last year, of charges of illicit¹⁵ campaign financing in 2014. （Temer曾经是她的副总统，后者于去年被弹劾下台）2014年的竞选资金来源非法的指控，Temer才勉强地保住了自己的职位。

　　But he retains support where it matters most: in congress. 但他最终还是保住了最重要的国会的支持。

　　For the case to proceed, the charges must be approved by two-thirds of deputies in the lower house. 该指控只有在下议院获得超过三分之二的支持率才有可能通过。

　　Enough support him to make that improbable. 所以想要扳倒他还是很难。

1 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

4 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

5 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。

6 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

7 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

8 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 interceding   

v.斡旋，调解( intercede的现在分词 )；说情

参考例句：

13 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

14 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

15 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。