VOA慢速英语2013 American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Recovers From Health Scare at Home

 

American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Recovers From Health Scare at Home

 

From VOA Learning English, this is IN THE NEWS in Special English.

American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is at home after a stay in a New York hospital, where she was treated for a blood clot¹. Her doctors say she is making excellent progress. A State Department spokeswoman said Mrs. Clinton plans to return to her office next week.

Last month, the 65-year-old diplomat² suffered a stomach virus that caused her to be dehydrated -- lacking enough fluids in her body. She fell and hit her head while she was sick.

In a normal medical examination following the accident, doctors discovered the blood clot between her brain and her skull³, a sinus venous thrombosis. She is currently taking medicine called blood thinners to break up the blood clot. Dr. Ben Wedro works in a Wisconsin trauma⁴ center. Dr. Wedro describes a blood clot.

“Blood pools and it doesn't flow. Blood that doesn't flow, clots⁵. That's a good thing when it's outside the blood vessels⁶. Not a good thing when it's inside the blood.”

Most common blood clots occur in the leg. This can be deadly if the clot moves to a lung and blocks the flow of blood to the heart. Mrs. Clinton suffered a blood clot in her leg in 1998. She once said that it was the biggest health threat she had ever faced.

Mrs. Clinton’s health problems of the past month have caused her to cancel trips and important meetings. She had been expected to testify before Congress about the attack on the American diplomatic office in Benghazi, Libya. A possibility remains⁷ that she will still appear before Congress about the issue in the future.

On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Mrs. Clinton had continued to work while in the hospital.

“She has been talking to her staff, including today. She has been quite active on the phone with all of us. But she also made some calls on Saturday to a couple of foreign officials.”

She reportedly made calls to discuss the issues of Syria, Afghanistan and financial support for the Palestinian Authority.

Since Mrs. Clinton began serving as secretary of state in two thousand nine, she has visited one hundred twelve countries. She has traveled more than any secretary of state in United States history. She plans to retire from the position once President Obama’s nominee⁸ for the job, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, is confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. Kerry, a Democrat⁹, is currently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He attended Yale University and served for a short time in Vietnam after he completed his studies. John Kerry was awarded two combat medals and three Purple Hearts, which are given to those wounded in war. He was elected to the Senate in nineteen eighty-two. He has been known to support free trade and environmental protection.

In two thousand four, Mr. Kerry won the Democratic Party presidential nomination¹⁰. He ran against President George W. Bush and lost the election by about two percent.  

With Mrs. Clinton’s retirement¹¹ and health problems, many people are trying to predict if she will campaign for president in 2016. In 2008, she lost the Democratic Party nomination to Barack Obama. In an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters in December, she said, right now, she does not have any intention of running for office.

1 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。