万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-01-07&09, 永远的福特总统

First here tonight, our emotional day, here in the nation's capital, NBC's David Gregory is with us from the White House tonight and starts this off, David, good evening.

Good evening Brian, this was an elaborate farewell for the President who was a modest man hailed today for his character and leadership during crisis. On a crisp windswept Washington morning, the casket carrying the 38th president, the common man from Michigan was escorted from the Capitol. The emotion evident on the faces of Gerald Ford¹'s children and his widow Betty. The cortege moves swiftly through the still of the city, slowing poignantly² outside the White House.

Gathered at the National Cathedral, Washington's elite³, former presidents, first ladies, journalists and Ford's friends who served at the highest levels of government. President Bush escorted Mrs. Ford, the strain of a day plain to see.

To know Jerry was to know a Norman Rockwell painting come to life, an avuncular⁴ figure quick to smile, frequently with his pipe in his mouth."

And so when President Nixon needed to replace a vice⁵ president who had resigned in scandal, he actually turned to a man whose name was a synonym⁶ for integrity. Gerald Ford, and eight months later when he was elevated to the presidency⁷, it was because America needed him, not because he needed the office.

Ford's controversial partner Richard Nixon was hailed today as a measure of his character.

Gerald Ford, you showed mercy when others demanded vengeance⁸.

Gerald Ford brought to the political arena⁹ no demons¹⁰, no hidden agenda, no hit list or acts of vengeance .

At one point while the choir¹¹ sang, Mrs. Ford could be seen saying to daughter Susan, "it was beautiful". By noon, a final escort through Washington. At Andrews Air Force Base, Ford's casket was loaded on the presidential aircraft. Arriving in Grand Rapids, Michigan, President Ford was home. A President, a family man and a football player heard the Michigan fight song one last time. The procession ended at the Ford Presidential Museum. Ford's family, the last solemn steps to this president's final resting place on a day of farewell.

There will be an overnight viewing of President Ford's body in Michigan and then the burial there tomorrow afternoon. Brian.

David Gregory at the White House for us tonight, Thank you for that, David.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 poignantly   

参考例句：

• His story is told poignantly in the film, A Beautiful Mind, now showing here. 以他的故事拍成的电影《美丽境界》，正在本地上映。

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 avuncular   

adj.叔伯般的，慈祥的

参考例句：

• He began to talk in his most gentle and avuncular manner.他开始讲话了，态度极其和蔼而慈祥。
• He was now playing the role of disinterested host and avuncular mentor.他现在正扮演着慷慨的主人和伯父似的指导人的角色。

5 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。

6 synonym   

n.同义词，换喻词

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

9 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

10 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。