万花筒 2009-06-27&06-28 报销违规坐大牢

MPs who break the rules could face up to a year in jail under new government plans. Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harmon has been outlining Ministers' ideas for cleaning up Westminster in the wake of public anger over MPs' expenses claims.

 

“The Bill will also create new criminal offenses¹ for knowingly making a false claim for an allowance, failing without reasonable excuse to register a relevant interest, contravening² without reasonable excuse the rules on paid advocacy.” The new law will tighten³ the rules on MPs’ allowances. Ms. Harmon also said ministers would review last week’s publication of blacked-out expenses claims which prompted criticism from Freedom of information campaigners. The expenses revelations by the Daily Telegraph for over the past few weeks have led to the resignation of a host of MPs in the face of investigation⁴ into a number of individuals. It was the expenses scandal that led to the downfall of the last Speaker of the House of the Commons Michael Martin. His replacement⁵ John Bercow has pledged to oversee⁶ reform of Parliament, but that comes despite controversy⁷ over his own claims, which saw allegations of flipping⁸ and a decision to pay back 6,500 pounds to the taxman.
 

1 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

2 contravening   

v.取消，违反( contravene的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was found guilty of contravening safety regulations. 那家公司被判违反了安全条例。
• You are contravening the regulations. 你违反了规定。 来自辞典例句

3 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。