Obama faces down abortion heckles

Obama faces down abortion¹ heckles

奥巴马勇敢面对并且压倒了人们对堕胎相关问题的质问 

President Barack Obama has been briefly² heckled as he addressed students at one of the largest Catholic universities in the US amid a row over abortion rights.

Anti-abortion activists³ have protested against the president's visit to Notre Dame⁴, in Indiana.

Protests and vigils（监督） have been held on and around campus, with several people arrested before Mr Obama's speech.

Mr Obama, who received an honorary degree（荣誉学位）, defended the right to abortion but said the procedure should be rare.

After entering the White House in January the president also quickly moved to reverse a Bush-era ban on embryonic（胚胎的，萌芽的） stem-cell research, angering many social conservatives(保守的)

There are approximately 60 million Roman Catholics in the US, with almost half of them supporting abortion rights, research suggests. Some 42% believe abortion should be illegal.

'Inappropriate'

Wearing the blue robes of Notre Dame, Mr Obama was welcomed onto the stage with a lengthy⁵ ovation⁶ （热烈欢迎，大喝彩）from students and staff.

Support for the president's visit was strong among those in the audience, who watched him receive an honorary degree before delivering the commencement（毕业典礼）, or graduation, address.

He was interrupted soon after beginning his speech, prompting a majority of those in the audience to cheer the president, who asked for calm and told listening graduates: "We don't do things the easy way."

The AFP news agency said four men heckled the president, shouting "abortion is murder" and "stop killing⁷ babies" before being escorted（护卫，护送） from the auditorium（礼堂）.

Mr Obama laid out his views on abortion in clear terms, describing it as "a heart-wrenching（令人心痛的，令人心碎的）decision for any woman".

To sustained applause, he outlined steps he supported.

"Let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions⁸ by reducing unintended（非计划中的，非故意的） pregnancies⁹, and making adoption¹⁰ more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term," he said.

The decision to invite Mr Obama to Notre Dame, the largest Catholic university in the US, has been fiercely criticised.

Many activists and Church leaders have directed their ire at university authorities they accuse of betraying Catholic principles.

"It is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation," said Cardinal¹¹ Francis George, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops¹³.

Bishop¹² John D'Arcy, of the diocese (主教教区)where Notre Dame is located, said he would boycott¹⁴ （抵制）the graduation for the first time in his 24 years as bishop（主教）, the Chicago Tribune reported.

And conservative critics have described the awarding of an honorary degree as "inappropriate".

Avoiding caricatures

Addressing his critics indirectly¹⁵, Mr Obama told academics and graduates at Notre Dame that he did not want the debate around abortion to go away.

Conceding that the views of opposing advocates were "irreconcilable¹⁶", he said each side would continue to make its case with convictionI(定罪，信服)

"Surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature（讽刺）?" he asked.

A strong majority of students were reported to be in favour of the president's visit, but a petition（请愿）containing some 360,000 names was delivered to the university as a mark of protest.

Overnight, students opposed to abortion rights attended an all-night prayer vigil to protest against Mr Obama's visit, and an estimated 200 people attended a prayer session at Alumni Hall Chapel¹⁷.

More than 100 protesters gathered and 23 marched onto the campus on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Police arrested 19 for trespassing（罪过，侵入，伤害）, with four also charged with resisting police.

A university spokesman said none of those arrested were students, AP added. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

5 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

6 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

9 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

10 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

11 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

12 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

13 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

14 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

15 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

16 irreconcilable   

adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的

参考例句：

• These practices are irreconcilable with the law of the Church.这种做法与教规是相悖的。
• These old concepts are irreconcilable with modern life.这些陈旧的观念与现代生活格格不入。

17 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。