VOA标准英语2010年-Longest Serving U.S. Senator, Robert B

Senate Appropriations¹ Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington (file photo – 15 May 2008)

Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat³ and the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate, has died at the age of 92.

The Democrat, who holds a record for the longest service in the Senate and the longest overall service in the bicameral⁵ Congress, rose to occupy several influential⁶ positions. He also was one of the staunchest critics of the Iraq war.

Senator Robert Byrd was a presence on Capitol Hill for more than a half century. He was as passionate⁷ about his home state of West Virginia as he was about working at the U.S. Capitol.

"Hello. What a great day for West Virginia," remarked Senator Byrd. "It's a beautiful state, isn't it? Hi folks. This is the greatest building in the world. It matches the Taj Mahal, the other great buildings around the world."

During his later years

As U.S. soldiers fought an increasingly controversial war in Iraq, the senator was an outspoken⁸ critic of the conflict.

"This entire adventure in Iraq has been based on propaganda and manipulation," he said.

As the influential chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he had a prominent platform on which to criticize the cost of the Iraq war.

"The cost of the war has spiraled to $149 billion," said Senator Byrd. "That's $149.00 for every minute since Jesus Christ was born and the White House is on the verge⁹ of asking Congress for another 80 billion dollars."

In 2006, Byrd was elected to an unprecedented¹⁰ ninth consecutive¹¹ term in the Senate and became the longest-serving senator in U.S. history. He cast more votes in Congress than any U.S. lawmaker.

He was twice elected Senate Majority Leader and twice elected Senate President pro² tempore, the third in line of succession for the presidency¹² after the Vice⁴ President and the Speaker of the House.

Senator Byrd considered himself a staunch defender¹³ of the U.S. Constitution – a copy of which was always in his pocket, and a champion of civil liberties.

But there was a brief period of his life that he was not proud of. In his 2005 autobiography¹⁴ he recalls his time in the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, when he was a young man.

He was reluctant to talk about it publicly.

"I'm ashamed," Senator Byrd said.

Byrd also said he regretted opposing civil rights legislation during the 1950's and '60s' when many fought to win full civil and voting rights for Africans Americans.

Although Byrd apologized for his earlier positions on racial matters, he had no regrets about his efforts to channel federal dollars to his home state. He defended the more than one billion dollars in federal funding he sent to West Virginia one of the most impoverished¹⁵ states. The money paid for buildings, institutions and roads, many that now bear his name - projects that critics argue amount to wasteful¹⁶ spending, or "pork".

"Well, you know, you'll see that in my obituary," Senator Byrd said. "'He was in the Klan, and he was the pork king.'  You watch."

Speaking to tourists in the Capitol several years ago, Byrd expressed a debt of gratitude¹⁷ to the residents of his state for allowing him to serve for so long in the Senate he so loves.

"All the credit goes to the people of West Virginia," Senator Byrd said. "They showed confidence in me over all these long years, the wonderful people of West Virginia. See you. Bye."

 

1 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 bicameral   

adj.两院制的

参考例句：

• The United States Congress is a bicameral body.美国国会由两个议院组成。
• The Upper House is usually the smaller branch of a bicameral legislature.上议院通常是两院制议会中较小的一个。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

8 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

9 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

14 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

15 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

17 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。