VOA慢速英语 2007 0310

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
Army Specialist Jeremy Duncan and Annette McLeod, wife of a wounded soldier, appear at a hearing at Walter Reed¹

Both houses of Congress held hearings this week on conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Investigations² began after the Washington Post reported last month on poor living conditions for soldiers recovering from war wounds. Some said they had to wait months for follow-up treatment or separation from the Army.

The newspaper described, for example, a building where recovering soldiers had to live with mice, mold and insects.

Military officials apologized at a hearing held Monday at Walter Reed by members of the House of Representatives. Lawmakers also heard from soldiers and family members about long delays with paperwork.

An Army document shows that officials at Walter Reed and the Army Medical Command were warned last year about a risk of system overload³. More than twenty thousand service members have been wounded in Iraq alone.

Another issue involves brain injuries in troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent news reports have told of some having to wait months for treatment. Congress has demanded that the Department of Veterans Affairs improve the situation.

An explosion that shakes the brain can cause traumatic brain injury. Doctors may not be able to see any injuries. But signs of it can include headaches, feeling tense, sleep disorders⁴, memory problems and depression.

The department says all patients who recently served in Iraq or Afghanistan will now be tested for traumatic brain injury. The new testing will start in the spring at all one hundred fifty-five V.A. medical centers. And all V.A. health care providers will be trained about this kind of injury.

In announcing the plan, V.A. Secretary Jim Nicholson noted⁵ that the department "is a nationally recognized leader in health care."

But this is not the first time the veterans hospital system has been criticized for poor service. The system began in the nineteen thirties. Over the years, it has gone through periods with more patients than it could handle. World War Two, for example, created waiting lists for beds in veterans hospitals.

Walter Reed is a leading military hospital. But a two thousand five law to reorganize military bases calls for it to close four years from now. Army officials say they are moving quickly to deal with the problems there. The hospital's commander for the past six months was replaced and the secretary of the Army was forced to resign.

But problems are being described not just at Walter Reed. President Bush says he is concerned that soldiers and their families are not getting the treatment they should. This week he established a commission⁶ to examine health care both at the Defense⁷ Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Former Senator⁸ Bob Dole⁹, a Republican¹⁰, and former health secretary Donna Shalala, a Democrat¹¹, have agreed to head the commission.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

1 reed   

n.芦苇，芦丛，簧舌，簧片

参考例句：

• The river banks were overgrown with reed.河岸长满了芦苇。
• They inhabit reed huts built on stilts above the water.他们住在建于水中木桩之上的芦苇草屋里。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

7 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。

8 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

9 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

10 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

11 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。