VOA标准英语2012--US Secret Service Maintains Dual Mission - Investigations, Protection

US Secret Service Maintains Dual² Mission - Investigations³, Protection

U.S. Secret Service agents are credited with saving President Ronald Reagan's life during an assassination⁴ attempt in 1981.

Day in and day out, Secret Service agents and uniformed officers protect high level government leaders and their families in Washington and around the world. The agency also provides security for visiting foreign leaders and dignitaries.

"Congress actually authorized⁵ us to protect the president in 1901," noted⁶ Special Agent Byron Tarver. "And slowly, we've inherited other protectees. We also have the vice¹ president. We also protect candidates that run for president."

Former Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy says the Presidential Protective Division is a large operating unit.

"I won't get into the exact numbers of people involved, but it can be tens of thousands, depending on the event that the president is attending," noted McCarthy.

Former Secret Service Deputy Director Clint Hill was the agent assigned to protect President John F. Kennedy the day he was assassinated⁷ in Dallas, Texas in 1963. Hill says the men and women who work for the agency are extremely dedicated⁸ to their mission.

"They are very determined," said Hill. "They are going to do the job - no matter what - and prevent anything from happening. Politics doesn't enter into it."

Protecting the president and other government officials is only part of the Secret Service's mission. 

Since the organization began in 1865, its primarily mission has involved protecting the integrity of the nation's financial system. Its agents investigate crimes involving the counterfeiting¹⁰ of U.S. and foreign currency and other securities.

Special Agent Byron Tarver is based in Bangkok, Thailand. He says the Secret Service office there concentrates on anti-counterfeit⁹ efforts.

"Counterfeit here in our region is active, mainly toward the south in Malaysia and Indonesia, not so much here in Thailand," said Tarver. "Several years ago, we had a lot more activity, but it seems to be on a lull¹¹. Counterfeit seems to come in peaks and valleys."

With advances in technology, the U.S. Secret Service has expanded its investigations to include financial institution fraud, counterfeit credit cards and computer crimes. 

Yet it is the service's protection of the president that most people see. But it is what people do not see that agents also consider important. 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

3 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。

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 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。

7 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

10 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

11 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。