VOA标准英语2011--Sexual Harassment Looms Larger Than Cain in US

Sexual Harassment¹ Looms² Larger Than Cain in US

 

While Republican party presidential hopeful Herman Cain continues to dismiss accusations³ of sexual harassment in his past, his uncertain political plight⁴ has become a main focus of American media. Advocates say the issue is very important and also goes beyond just politics.

Herman Cain is the latest in a long line of prominent U.S. politicians to face repeated accusations of sexual harassment.

At least three women have accused the former pizza magnate of sexual harassment during the 1990s when he was the top lobbyist for the National Restaurant Association.

Former Democratic U.S. President and Arkansas governor Bill Clinton was for years the focus of a sexual harassment lawsuit⁵ by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones.

Former Florida Republican Congressman⁶ Mark Foley resigned in 2006 after it was disclosed he was sending sexually explicit⁷ emails and text messages to teenage interns⁸.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks at the Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, November 4, 2011.

At the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, Fatima Goss Graves says it is very important for voters to get clear records on politicians and any sexual harassment.

She says the issue also goes much further. “I am interested in knowing what the reaction is to harassment, what employees are saying that they think they should be doing about harassment, what policy makers⁹ are saying they should do about it. I do not think that that is where the conversation has been unfortunately,” said Graves.

Graves points to the hearings 20 years ago involving then Supreme¹⁰ Court nominee¹¹, now Justice, Clarence Thomas who faced accusations of sexual harassment in the workplace from Anita Hill.

The hearings were immediately followed by nearly double the amount of usual sexual harassment charges and new laws against workplace discrimination.

But advocates say these laws do not go far enough. Lisa Maatz from the American Association of University Women also says in difficult economic times, like now, victims are often afraid to come forward.

“Right now, quite frankly¹², a lot of women are just happy to have jobs and so the notion that they would then speak up and potentially lose that job even though such retaliation¹³ is illegal, it happens all the time, is a huge deal,” said Maatz.

Her association also just finished a new report detailing sexual harassment and bullying¹⁴ in U.S. schools which Maatz says has become an “epidemic”. The association is calling for education against harassment to begin at a very young age.

On the specific issue of Cain, the advocates say they hope his accusers, if they are identified, will not face what they call an onslaught of negative coverage¹⁵ by the media as has been the case in previous high-profile sexual harassment cases.

Cain has repeatedly denied the accusations against him. Recent polls still place him near the top of the Republican field of presidential hopefuls, two months before the Republican nominating process for the 2012 U.S. presidential election begins.

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

13 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。