美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Game Recognizes Game': A Bipartisan Bond In The Age Of Impeachment

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

When you look around Washington, D.C., right now, civility may not be the first word that you think of. So it's an interesting time for two members of Congress to receive this high-profile award for their efforts at finding common ground. Here's NPR's congressional reporter Claudia Grisales.

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE¹: Democrat² Hakeem Jeffries is a hip-hop fan from Brooklyn, and Republican Doug Collins of rural Georgia favors country music. Collins has adopted his colleagues' favorite musical reference to explain their mutual³ respect.

DOUG COLLINS: Game recognizes game. This man right here, you want to be - you want to partner with him.

GRISALES: And Jeffries returns the favor.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Although I appreciate Doug Collins quoting, you know, one of the philosophical⁴ underpinnings of hip-hop, which is game recognizes game, which shows you how much game Doug Collins has at the end of the day.

GRISALES: They easily share laughs, but their business couldn't be more serious. They sit on the House Judiciary Committee, ground zero for a Trump⁵ impeachment⁶ inquiry⁷. They gathered in Collins' Capitol Hill office for an early celebration of sorts. They'll receive a joint⁸ civility prize from Pennsylvania's Allegheny College this morning. They'll follow in the footsteps of national political figures like the late Senator John McCain and former Vice⁹ President Joe Biden and Supreme¹⁰ Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the late Antonin Scalia. Jeffries and Collins joined the same freshman¹¹ class of House lawmakers in 2013 and met on the Judiciary panel. And when most people think Democrats¹² and Republicans don't even talk, Jeffries remembers it was Collins who reached out to work together.

JEFFRIES: The fact that we can find common ground captures the attention and the imagination of people both inside the Beltway and outside.

GRISALES: They scored their first legislative¹³ win on a bill to protect musicians, but their much tougher work collaboration¹⁴ came with criminal justice reform. Their effort led to a new law shortening sentences for some inmates¹⁵. Collins gets emotional when he thinks about Matthew Charles, a former drug dealer¹⁶ who was one of the first impacted by the changes after serving more than 20 years in prison.

COLLINS: I cried when Matthew Charles came. And the bill that we did, this man's life is different.

JEFFRIES: Right.

COLLINS: That's what makes this special. That's passionate¹⁷ involvement, not dispassionate politics.

GRISALES: Jeffries nods in agreement and says even though as Trump investigations¹⁸ are dominating Capitol Hill, there's more work they can do together on policy issues that earned them this award.

JEFFRIES: The resiliency and the power of American exceptionalism has always gotten us through prior instances of intense internal conflict, and so I'm confident that the same will happen as we move forward.

GRISALES: They can see the impeachment probe has the potential to tear Congress apart, but they say their bipartisan bond is a testament¹⁹ to how civility can survive in Washington.

Claudia Grisales, NPR News, the Capitol.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

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 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 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。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

12 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》

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

15 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

17 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

18 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。

19 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。