VOA常速英语2015--美国司法部长确认之争加剧

US Attorney General Confirmation¹ Battle Intensifies 美国司法部长确认之争加剧

WASHINGTON—

The coming week brings increased pressure on U.S. senators to vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee² for attorney general. 

Federal prosecutor³ Loretta Lynch has been awaiting confirmation since November.  Republicans who control the Senate say they will schedule a vote as soon as pending⁴ legislation to combat human trafficking is approved.

A frustrated⁵ President Obama chastised⁶ the Senate Friday for delaying the Lynch confirmation vote.

周五倍感沮丧的奥巴马总统严厉谴责了国会。

“Enough.  Enough.  Call Loretta Lynch for a vote," Obama said. "Get her confirmed.  Put her in place.  Let her do her job.  This is embarrassing.”

“够了，真是够了。我呼吁投上林奇一票。确认她。让她履行属于自己的职责。让她干自己的活。这真是令人尴尬。”

Lynch would be the United States' first female African American attorney general. She has prosecuted⁷ numerous high-profile cases in recent years involving terrorism and financial misdeeds, and probed human rights violations⁸ and allegations of police brutality⁹. She had this to say when Obama nominated her to be America’s top law enforcement official.

林奇将成为美国历史上首位非裔女司法部长。

“The Department of Justice is the only Cabinet department named for an ideal.  And I will work every day to safeguard our citizens, our liberties, our rights, and this great nation which has given so much to me and my family,” Lynch said.

司法部是最为理想唯一的内阁部门。我每天将竭尽全力工作保障我们的市民安全，维护我们的自由，我们的权利，而我们这个伟大的国家已经对我和我的家庭付出了很多。

But the Senate is currently deadlocked¹⁰ on a bill to help the victims of human trafficking and sexual slavery.  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the legislation is vital and overdue¹¹.

但参议院现在在一项帮助人口走私及性奴役受害人的法案上陷入了僵局。

“Human trafficking is a serious problem in our country.  It is hard for people to believe, but it occurs in every single state,” McConnell said.

人口走私在我们的国家是一个非常严重的问题。我们的人们难以相信，但每一个州仍会有这样的情况发生。

Fellow-Republican John Cornyn says the bill’s concept is simple and enjoys universal bipartisan support.

同僚的共和党人约翰·柯尔楠表示该法案意图非常明确而且两党双方都表示普遍支持。

“What it would do is create a victims’ compensation fund from the fines and penalties assessed against people who were engaging in child pornography and other sex-related crimes,” said Cornyn.

这项法案的目标在于建立受害人补偿基金，而款项来自于从涉嫌儿童色情及其他性相关犯罪的人们那里收缴来的罚金及惩罚款。

But Democrats¹³ object to language that would prevent those funds from being used by victims seeking an abortion¹⁴, and are refusing to allow a final vote until the issue is resolved.  Republicans, meanwhile, say there will be no vote on Loretta Lynch so long as the human trafficking bill remains¹⁵ in limbo¹⁶.

但反对的民主党人表示这项法案会让那些尝试堕胎的受害者们得不得这项基金的补偿，并且在这个问题得到妥善解决前拒绝进行最终环节的投票。与此同时共和党人则表示只要人口走私法案仍然悬而未决，林奇问题就不会进行投票。

Democrat¹² Richard Durbin says the Senate could easily vote to confirm Lynch while a solution to the human trafficking impasse¹⁷ is sought.

民主党人理查德·德宾表示在人口走私问题尘埃落定后参议院不费吹灰之力就可以确认林奇。

“Senators can vote for or against Loretta Lynch to be attorney general.  That is their right.  But a nominee whose qualifications and character are unquestionable deserves better than the treatment she is receiving from the U.S. Senate.  Ms. Lynch deserves a timely vote,” Durbin said.

“参议员们一手掌控林奇是否可以成为司法部长。这是握在他们手中的大权。但一位资格及作风均不受质疑的候选人理应享受比现在在美国参议院所受更好的待遇。林奇女士应该得到及时的投票。”

The delay in confirming Lynch is the longest for an attorney general nominee in more than three decades.  She would replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁸, who remains on the job until his successor is confirmed.

推迟投票确认林奇让她成为30年来历时最长的司法部长候选人。她预计会取代即将离任的埃里克·霍尔德，直至继任者得到确认，这位仍然在职的现司法部长才会离去。

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 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。

3 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。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

7 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

10 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

11 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

12 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。

13 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》

14 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

17 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

18 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。