2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Apologizes for Poor Conditions at Walter R

By Scott Stearns
White House
30 March 2007

President Bush has apologized for the poor living conditions for some wounded servicemen and women at a military hospital outside the capital. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

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President Bush, right, shakes hands with the 1st Lt. Scott Quilty during a visit to Walter Reed Army Center in Washington, 30 Mar 2007

It was the president's first visit to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center since a newspaper last month reported recuperating² soldiers living in a run-down building infested³ with mice, mold, and cockroaches⁴.

Building 18 has since been closed and patients there moved elsewhere. But the ensuing scandal has claimed the general in charge of the hospital and the Secretary of the Army.

Speaking to medical staff at Walter Reed Friday, President Bush said he is deeply troubled by the incidents and has named a bipartisan commission to investigate what he calls administrative⁵ and bureaucratic⁶ failures.

"The system failed you and it failed our troops and we are going to fix it," he said.  "I met some of the soldiers who had been housed in Building 18. I was disturbed by their accounts of what went wrong. It is not right to have someone volunteer to wear our uniform and not get the best possible care. I apologize for what they went through, and we are going to fix the problem."

It was the president's 12th trip to Walter Reed, visits that are almost always private with the White House occasionally releasing an official photograph.

Friday, Mr. Bush met with more than a dozen physical therapy patients under the glare of television lights, shaking hands and posing for photos with the two-month-old daughter of a man run over by a bulldozer under sniper fire.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says suggestions that this was a publicity⁷ trip for the president are "an unfortunate characterization." She says it took time to clear enough room on the president's schedule to visit Walter Reed six weeks after the problems were first reported.

Opposition⁸ Democrats⁹ in Congress want the Veteran's Administration to report back to them within 60 days about whether the agency has resolved complaints over living conditions and bureaucratic delays in providing follow-up care.

Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray blames President Bush for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who she says have been lost in the system.

"We are now starting the fifth year of this war. And to date, this president has not planned and supported funding to make sure that those men and women, whether it is traumatic brain injury, whether they've lost a limb, whether it's post-traumatic-stress syndrome¹⁰, or whether it's just coming home and being able to find another job, have been paid attention to," she said.

The president has told his bipartisan commission on veterans' health care to report back to him by the end of July. A Defense¹¹ Department review is expected to release its findings in the next two weeks.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 recuperating   

v.恢复（健康、体力等），复原( recuperate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's still recuperating from his operation. 他动了手术，还在恢复。
• He is recuperating from a serious back injury. 他背部受了重伤，目前正在康复中。 来自辞典例句

3 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

4 cockroaches   

n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At night, the cockroaches filled the house with their rustlings. 夜里，屋里尽是蟑螂窸窸瑟瑟的声音。 来自辞典例句
• It loves cockroaches, and can keep a house clear of these hated insects. 它们好食蟑螂，可以使住宅免除这些讨厌昆虫的骚扰。 来自百科语句

5 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

6 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

7 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

8 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。

9 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》

10 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

11 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。