2006年VOA标准英语-Political Sex Scandal Roils Washington

By Deborah Tate
Washington
02 October 2006

Majority Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are scrambling¹ to contain the fallout from a scandal involving one of their own, Congressman² Mark Foley of Florida, who resigned abruptly³ last week when it was revealed he sent sexually explicit⁴ emails to young boys. Democrats⁵ are hoping to politically benefit from the matter, which comes just five weeks before crucial midterm elections. 

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House Speaker Dennis Hastert speaks to reporters with Rep. John Shimkus, right, regarding the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, October 2, 2006
  
House Speaker Dennis Hastert says House Republican leaders did not know about the lurid⁶ emails sent by Congressman Foley to teenage male interns⁷ working at the Capitol until they surfaced in news reports on Friday.

"Congressman Foley resigned, and I am glad he did," he said. "If he had not, I would have demanded his expulsion from the House of Representatives.

Hastert's comments come in response to Democrats, who allege⁸ that House leaders may have known about Foley's inappropriate behavior and sought to cover it up for political reasons.

In a written statement, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Republican leaders admitted knowing about Foley's "abhorrent⁹ behavior" at least six months earlier and failed to protect the children in their trust. She says Republican leaders must be investigated by the Ethics¹⁰ Committee and immediately questioned under oath.

Rep. Mark Foley speaks at a news conference in Tallahassee, Florida (File photo)  
  
In an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press program Sunday, Democratic Congressman Sherrod Brown of Ohio said any Republican leader who knew about the matter and did not report it should leave office.

"I think anyone who knew about this, any leader who knew about this should resign, absolutely," he said.

The scandal comes just five weeks before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

While Democrats try to make political hay out of the scandal, at the White House, spokesman Tony Snow sought to play down its impact on the November 7 elections.

"Mark Foley has got to answer for his behavior, right? Now, this does not affect every Republican in the United States of America," said Snow.

Foley is under federal investigation¹¹. He has entered an alcoholism treatment center, and issued a statement expressing regret and accepting responsibility for the harm he has caused.

Foley, a six-term Congressman who was expected to win reelection against his Democratic challenger, had served as co-chairman of the House Caucus¹² on Missing and Exploited Children, and recently introduced legislation to crack down on internet pornography sites.

1 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

4 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

5 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》

6 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

7 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

8 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

9 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。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 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。

12 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。