万花筒 2008-07-14&-07-15 白宫发言人Tony Snow 病逝

He was President Bush's third press secretary, brought in to revitalize a second term administration increasingly unpopular and off-message. Tony Snow brought to the job the credentials¹ of a journalist and the polish of a TV star.

 

Tony already knows most of you, and he's agreed to take the job anyway. And I'm really glad he did.

 

And the former conservative pundit² took it despite being fresh off a bout³ with colon⁴ cancer.

 

No, no, just having gone through this last year, and I said this to Chris Wallace was the best thing that ever happened to me.

 

A natural wordsmith, Snow defended Bush policies with gusto and clearly relished⁵ the cut-and-thrust of his daily meetings with reporters.

 

The Palestinians are not being bankrupted, Helen. What’s happening，as you know，is that there's a, the Hamas is a terrorist organization. We do not give money to terrorist organizations.

 

Snow was a young editorial writer when he first came to the White House to write speeches for Bush's father. But most of Americans got to know him through TV as the genial⁶ but acerbic⁷ host of Fox News Sunday. At the White House podium, Snow was an unflinching Bush booster. But away from it, he was a devout⁸ family man who cut loose playing flute⁹ with a rock band. And his time at the podium was fleeting¹⁰. Ten months after starting，his cancer was back.

 

In re(cent), a recent series of CAT scans and PET scans and MRIs，we have found a small growth in my lower abdomen¹¹. Blood tests are negative. PET scans are negative. But out of an aggressive sense of caution, I’m gonna go in for surgery on Monday, and have it removed.

 

Aides were in tears, reporters stunned¹².

 

And I'll miss you each and every day, especially when I'm sore and filled up with drugs.

 

Snow eventually handed the job to his deputy, Dana Perino, but not before telling a banquet of White House correspondents--Washington's not the snake pit it's cracked up to be.

 

It's a small town where we are quite often bound together by extraordinary experiences, and the unique honor of sitting at a seat of government of a nation that not only remakes history but also defines what it means to be a good country.

 

Looking out at the great and the good that evening, he offered this advice: If you see someone in need, do some good and pass it on.

 

Mark Smith, the Associated Press, the White House.

 

1 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

2 pundit   

n.博学之人；权威

参考例句：

• Even the outstanding excellent graduate will learn constantly if he likes to be a pundit.即使最优秀的结业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地研究。
• He is a well known political pundit.他是一个著名的政治专家。

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

5 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

6 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

7 acerbic   

adj.酸的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• He sent back an acerbic letter.他回复了一封尖刻的信。

8 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

9 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

10 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

11 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

12 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。