Lawmakers, Americans Listen to Woman Accuse Supreme Court Nominee of Sexual Attack

 

The first woman who publicly accused the nominee¹ to the U.S. Supreme² Court of a sexual attack spoke³ at a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Brett Kavanaugh, the nominee, has strongly denied the charges.

Christine Blasey Ford⁴ said that she is "100 percent" sure that the teenager who attacked her in 1982 is Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. She also said she feared that Kavanaugh was "going to accidentally kill" her at the time.

Ford said the attack took place at a house party that she attended along with Kavanaugh, his friend Mark Judge and others. She said that Kavanaugh and Judge locked her in a bedroom and that Kavanaugh forced himself on top of her.

Ford spoke under oath to tell the truth.

"I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me, and I tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was very inebriated⁵ and because I was wearing a one piece bathing suit underneath⁶ my clothing. I believed he was going to rape⁷ me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. This is what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting⁸ impact on my life."

She said Kavanaugh and Judge were "drunkenly laughing during the attack."

Kavanaugh has denied all accusations⁹ of sexual assault from Ford and from several other women who came forward with claims of sexual wrongdoing. He is to testify later Thursday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman is Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Grassley said Democrats¹⁰ should have brought forward the accusations earlier.

He said that the FBI had carried out six full field investigations¹¹ of Kavanaugh since 1993. He said it found no suggestion of sexual wrongdoing in any of those investigations.

When he speaks with lawmakers later today, Kavanaugh is expected to strongly deny Ford's report as well as accusations by others. He has described the claims as last-minute smears¹³. He released a text of his expected statement Wednesday. Ford also released such a statement.

President Donald Trump¹⁴ chose Kavanaugh in July to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh's confirmation¹⁶ could solidify¹⁷ a conservative majority on the court for a generation.

On Wednesday, President Trump accused Democrats of creating untrue accusations against Kavanaugh. "They know it is a big fat con¹⁵ job," Trump said.

Other women have come forward in the past few days with detailed¹⁸ accusations about Kavanaugh, including that he was aware of group rapes¹⁹ of girls in high school. He has denied all the accusations.

Trump said Wednesday that he would watch Thursday's Senate hearing. He said it is possible he could change his mind about his nominee after he hears Ford and Kavanaugh speak about the accusations. Currently, lawmakers are scheduled to vote Friday morning on whether to approve Kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.

Christine Blasey Ford is a psychology²⁰ professor at Palo Alto University in California. Brett Kavanaugh is a federal judge in Washington, D.C. They both attended private high schools in the D.C. area in the 1980s.

I‘m Caty Weaver²¹.

Words in This Story

smear¹² - n. an untrue story about a person that is meant to hurt that person's reputation?

con - n. a dishonest trick

yell - v. to shout

grope - v. ?to touch (someone) in an unwanted and unexpected sexual way?

inebriated - adj. affected²² by drinking too much alcohol: drunk

impact - n. ?a powerful or major influence or effect?

drunkenly adv. - influenced by drinking too much alcohol

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 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。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 inebriated   

adj.酒醉的

参考例句：

• He was inebriated by his phenomenal success. 他陶醉于他显赫的成功。 来自互联网
• Drunken driver(a driver who is inebriated). 喝醉了的司机（醉酒的司机） 来自互联网

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

9 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。

10 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》

11 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。

12 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

13 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

14 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。

15 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

16 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

17 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

18 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

19 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

20 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

21 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

22 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。