German defense minister under political criticism

    BERLIN, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A series of scandals in German armed forces has put Defense¹ Minister(国防部长) Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, a rising star in German politics, under mounting criticism from both opposition² and the media.
    The severe（严重的） incidents were made public by Hellmut Koenigshaus, the parliamentary ombudsman for the military, in a report presented to the members of the armed services committee of German parliament.
    The report indicates a 21-year-old soldier, who died of a bullet wound in the head in December in Afghanistan, might be killed accidentally by a shot fired by one of his colleagues.
    Koenigshaus is also investigating（调查） the death of a 25-year-old female cadet, who fell from 27 meters high while climbing the rigging on the traditional German navy training ship, the "Gorch Fock."The report shows that after the accident, cadets, who refused to enter the rigging were accused of mutiny, which made them under too much pressure.
    On Friday, Guttenberg dismissed the captain of the navy's training ship, which then triggered another trouble. Some opposition leaders accused him of acting³ too hastily on this issue and trying to cover up his own failure.
    "The decisions made over the weekend were appropriate and necessary," Guttenberg defended himself on Sunday, saying that the captain was not fired nor thrown out and the measure could facilitate a thorough investigation⁴.
    "If these allegations prove to be false, then his career will continue as planned," he added.
    Accusations⁵ that letters from German soldiers in Afghanistan had been opened unlawfully before delivery also added political pressure to the minister.
    Guttenberg's political opponents claimed that he had either tried to cover up the incidents and delayed information, or lacked authority.
    The German defence minister rejected all the accusations and called them "infamous⁷."In early 2010, Guttenberg survived a political scandal surrounding the bombing of a fuel truck in Kunduz, Afghanistan. He was accused of lying about information in his ministry⁸.
    Guttenberg claimed he had not been fully⁶ informed about the bombing at that time. In the follow-up to the Kunduz affair, he promised to improve information policies inside his ministry.
    The recent scandals fueled accusations that changes have not been put into effect and Guttenberg is not fully in control.
    Guttenberg is one of the most popular conservative politicians and the darling of German media. He is widely tipped to succeed Chancellor⁹ Angela Merkel.
    However, a damaged reputation could massively slow down his fast political career and even weaken the conservative party in the long run.
    To back up her defense minister and avoid further damage, Merkel announced through her spokesman that she fully trusted in her "excellent minister of defense."(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 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。

2 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。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。