PBS高端访谈:回顾前纽约州长马里奥科莫的一生

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: They are calling him a liberal lion. Mario Cuomo began life above his father's grocery store in Queens and died yesterday as a three-time governor known for unapologetic defense¹ of liberalism.

　　MARIO CUOMO, (D) New York Governor-Elect: We won because people — people and the passion of belief are still more important than money.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: It was November 1982, and Mario Cuomo had just been elected governor of New York State. His victory marked the ascent² of a son of Italian immigrants, who became a successful lawyer and then politician.

　　Just five years earlier, he'd lost to Ed Koch in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. But, in 1978, he was elected lieutenant³ governor, and then captured the governor's mansion⁴. There, Cuomo became a rallying point for liberal Democrats⁵ in the Reagan era.

　　MARIO CUOMO: The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that this is how we were warned it would be.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: He electrified⁶ the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco with an impassioned attack on Reaganomics.

　　MARIO CUOMO: The Republicans called it trickle-down when Hoover tried it. Now they call it supply-side. But it's the same shining city for those relative few who are lucky enough to live in its good neighborhoods. But for the people who are excluded, for the people who are locked out, all they can do is stare from a distance at that city's glimmering⁷ towers.

　　It's an old story. It's as old as our history. The difference between Democrats and Republicans has always been measured in courage and confidence. The Republicans…

　　MARIO CUOMO: The Republicans believe that the wagon⁸ train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail.

　　MARIO CUOMO: The strong, they tell us, will inherit the land.

　　We Democrats believe in something else. We Democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact, and we have more than once.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: The speech energized⁹ the Democratic base and thrust Cuomo into the national spotlight¹⁰.

　　Ultimately, the Democratic presidential nominee¹¹, Walter Mondale, lost in a landslide¹². And Cuomo became the party's presumed front-runner for 1988. He pondered making the race, but passed in 1988 and again in 1992, earning the moniker Hamlet on the Hudson.

　　In the end, Cuomo's national moment passed, and he gave the nominating speech for the Democrats' successful presidential candidate in 1992.

　　MARIO CUOMO: It's time — it's time for change. It's time for someone smart enough to know, strong enough to do, sure enough to lead, the comeback kid, a new voice for a new America.

　　Because I love New York, because I love America, I nominate for the office of the president of the United States the man from Hope, Arkansas, Governor Bill Clinton.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: All told, Cuomo served three terms as governor, marked by his increasingly unpopular stances against the death penalty and for gun control.

　　He also insisted lawmakers had no right to ban abortion¹³, despite his own personal opposition¹⁴ rooted in Roman Catholic beliefs.

　　In 2004, he spoke¹⁵ with Jeffrey Brown, on the “NewsHour,” about balancing religion and politics.

　　MARIO CUOMO: But the question really is, are you in communion with your church if, for example, you're a Catholic who accepts the abortion teaching, as I did, and lived by it for, say, 50 years, which we have, but refuses to take the position that now I have to make the whole society of non-Catholics, non-believers, and even those Catholics who do not accept the abortion — I have to impose a law upon them or attempt to?

　　And if you do that, you're talking about a Catholic theocracy¹⁶. And if you tell people that, they will never vote for a Catholic.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: By 1994, New Yorkers were no longer willing to vote for Cuomo, and he lost to George Pataki in that year's Republican wave.

　　The following year, his political career now ended, he returned to private law practice. But, last year, in an interview with public TV station WLIW in New York, he suggested the career change had been liberating¹⁷.

　　MARIO CUOMO: I love the law. I love — I didn't love politics. As a matter of fact, I hate politics. I loved governing, which is, I hope, a different thing.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: And even out of politics, Cuomo remained at least partially¹⁸ in the public eye. He mediated¹⁹ a $162 million settlement between the owners of the New York Mets and victims of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.

　　MARIO CUOMO: They will be able to return to, as I say, normalcy. And that, I think, is a very good thing.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: And he lived to see his son Andrew Cuomo follow in his footsteps and win election and then reelection as governor of New York state.

　　His death came the same day his son was sworn into office for a second time. And Andrew Cuomo poignantly²⁰ paid tribute to his father in his inauguration²¹ speech.

　　GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) New York: He couldn't be here physically²² today, my father. But my father is in this room. He's in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here. And he's here. And his inspiration and his legacy²³ and his experience is what has brought this state to this point.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Mario Cuomo suffered from a heart condition in his final years. He died yesterday, at the age of 82.

　　Online, you can watch more archival video of Mario Cuomo, including Jeff's 2004 conversation with him.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

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 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

8 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

9 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

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 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

13 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。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 theocracy   

n.神权政治；僧侣政治

参考例句：

• Shangzhou was an important period for the formation and development of theocracy.商周时期是神权政治形成与发展的重要阶段。
• The Muslim brothers look as if they will opt for civil society rather than theocracy.穆斯林兄弟看起来好像更适合文明的社会，而非神权统治。

17 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

18 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

19 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

20 poignantly   

参考例句：

• His story is told poignantly in the film, A Beautiful Mind, now showing here. 以他的故事拍成的电影《美丽境界》，正在本地上映。

21 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

22 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

23 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。