VOA常速英语2008年-Congressman Tom Lantos, Holocaust Survivor, Dea

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
11 February 2008
 

U.S. Congressman¹ Tom Lantos, a widely-respected foreign policy expert in Washington, has died of cancer at age 80. VOA's Deborah Tate looks back at the extraordinary life of the California Democrat².

Tom Lantos served nearly three decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, and most recently served as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He made a name for himself as a champion of human rights.

"We are deeply concerned with human rights everywhere - in China, in North Korea and in many other countries," Lantos said. "And the United States is deeply committed to improving the human rights condition globally."

Thomas Peter Lantos was born to a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary in 1928.

He was 16 when Nazi³ Germany occupied Hungary. He joined the anti-Nazi resistance, and later the anti-Communist student movement. After the Soviets⁴ invaded Hungary, he learned that most of his family had died in the Holocaust⁵.

Lantos came to the United States on an academic scholarship in 1947.

 

Charles Gati of Johns Hopkins University says the war helped shape Lantos' outlook in Congress.

"Where he comes from is the experience of anti-totalitarianism," he said. "He hates dictators with a passion, and he hates people and politicians who discriminate⁶ against others on the basis of race, color, national origin or religion."

The human rights movement found an advocate in Lantos. He fought for legislation to crack down on countries with poor human rights records, including a bill banning the import of gems⁷ from Burma.

"This legislation is imperative⁸ because the ruling junta⁹ steps up its abuse of human rights," Congressman Lantos said. "All of us saw the bloodbath of monks¹⁰ and others on the streets of Burma. And the civilized¹¹ world is getting sick and tired of the generals running a brutal¹² police state in Asia at a time when so many countries in Asia are moving toward democracy."

Lantos staunchly supported President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, but he later became an outspoken¹³ critic of the conflict.

"We need to get out of Iraq for that country's sake and for our own," he said. "It is time to go and to go now."

Lantos was a prominent advocate for Israel. He attributed his support not to his Jewish heritage, but to his belief in democracy and opposition¹⁴ to terrorism.

"I am here to indicate that we are supportive of your effort to bring about what will be a safer, more secure and more prosperous Israel," he said.

Such a strong belief in democracy also prompted Lantos to support aid for post-communist Eastern Europe.

When he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus last December, he announced he would not seek reelection. In a written statement, he said it is only in the United States that a penniless survivor¹⁵ of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of life as a member of Congress.

He is survived by his wife, Annette, two daughters, and 17 grandchildren.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 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。

3 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

4 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

5 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

6 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

7 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

8 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

9 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

10 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

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 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。