2006年VOA标准英语-Experts: Corruption Scandal Could Be Major

By Jim Malone
11 January 2006

Opposition¹ Democrats³ expect to make gains in congressional elections later this year in part because of a corruption⁴ scandal involving once-powerful Republican lobbyist Jack⁵ Abramoff. But Republicans are quick to point out that Abramoff gave money to Democrats as well.

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Jack Abramoff  
  

Democrats see an opening in the developing scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"The public says America is headed in the wrong direction and we Democrats stand for change, not only in trying to clean up this lobbying and corruption, but on the meat and potato issues like energy costs and prescription⁶ drugs and health care. And I think they are going to be tied together and it is going to be a good Democratic year in 2006, at least if things continue as they are now," said Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat² from New York, on NBC's Meet the Press program.

Abramoff is at the center of a corruption scandal that could involve several lawmakers. Abramoff is a Republican who had strong links with Republicans in Congress. But he also gave money to several Democrats in hopes of obtaining help on issues of importance to his clients, including American Indian tribes.

Lobbying members of Congress is as old as the Republic and is protected by the U.S. Constitution. But prosecutors⁷ say in the case of Jack Abramoff, extensive lobbying quickly gave way to outright⁸ bribery⁹.

Abramoff pleaded guilty earlier this month to corruption charges outlined by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher.

"Abramoff had a congressman¹⁰ insert statements in the Congressional Record, had a congressman endorse¹¹ a wireless¹² telephone contract for the House of Representatives, had a congressman agree to seek passage of legislation to help Abramoff's clients," she said.

Former Republican House leader Tom Delay has not been implicated¹³ directly in the Abramoff scandal. But his links with the one-time high powered Washington lobbyist convinced many Republicans that Congressman Delay should not return as House Republican leader and he recently abandoned his bid to return to the leadership.

Republicans are also worried about the political impact of the Abramoff scandal on this year's congressional elections. But they point out that Jack Abramoff spread contributions around to a number of Democrats in an attempt to buy influence.

"I think he gave money to nearly 80 members in the United States Senate, so he was spreading it among Republicans and Democrats, and I am hopeful that the trail is followed and let us pursue this and let us pursue it aggressively so that we can show the people good, honest, clean government," said Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican from Kansas, on ABC's This Week program.

House Republicans are now in the process of choosing a permanent replacement¹⁴ for Tom Delay as their new leader, and the vote for a new majority leader could occur by the end of the month.

The leading contenders are acting¹⁵ majority leader Roy Blunt of Missouri and Ohio Congressman John Boehner, both conservatives.

Some Republicans are also pushing the idea of lobbying reform as they anticipate general public disgust over the Abramoff corruption scandal.

University of Virginia political analyst¹⁶ Larry Sabato says the lobbying scandal is likely to be a major issue in this year's elections even with Congressman Delay's decision to permanently¹⁷ step aside as House Republican leader.

"He was given a push and the push was delivered by Jack Abramoff. The guilty pleas by Abramoff made it very clear that scandal is going to be a preeminent¹⁸ issue in 2006," he said.

The Justice Department is investigating several lawmakers in connection with the Abramoff case. More revelations are expected in the months ahead and the political impact could hit both parties depending on which members of Congress are involved.

"Democrats are going to try to turn this into a partisan¹⁹ issue. The Republicans say no, that there are some Republicans involved but there are Democrats involved, and so this is really going to boil down to a nuts and bolts political argument," said Stuart Rothenberg, who publishes an independent political newsletter in Washington.

All 435 House seats will be at stake in November as well as one-third of the 100 Senate seats.

Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress since the 1994 elections.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

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 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》

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

9 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

12 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

13 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

15 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

18 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

19 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。