2007年VOA标准英语-Funeral Services Held in Washington for 38th US

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
02 January 2007
 
watch Memorial report

Final respects were paid in Washington today for former President Gerald Ford¹, who died last Tuesday at the age of 93.  Ford's body was moved from the Capitol, where he had been lying in state, to Washington's National Cathedral where he was eulogized by President Bush and others.  Ford's final resting place will be Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he grew up. 

 
Funeral service for former President Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington
To the strains of "Hail to the Chief" and the thunder of cannon-fire, a military honor guard carried President Ford's casket down the steps of the Capitol building. The body of the 38th president was then driven through the streets of Washington to the National Cathedral for the funeral ceremony. 

Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George Bush, Sr. attended the ceremony.  Other dignitaries were there as well.

President Bush, who escorted Mrs. Ford into the Cathedral, delivered the main eulogy³.  "In President Ford, the world saw the best of America, he said.. "And America found a man whose character and leadership would bring calm and healing to one of the most divisive moments in our nation's history."

 
Former President George H. W. Bush participates in funeral services for former President Gerald R. Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington, 2 Jan. 2007
President Bush senior and Ford's secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, also delivered remarks - and spoke⁴ of the late president's qualities. 

Mr. Kissinger said, "Gerald Ford had the virtues⁵ of small-town America: sincerity⁶, serenity⁷ and integrity. As it turned out, the absence of glibness⁸ and his artless decency⁹ became a political asset, fostering an unusual closeness to leaders around the world, which continued long after he left office."

Ford became president in 1974, following the resignation of Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.  Nixon had appointed Ford vice² president in 1973 to succeed Spiro Agnew, who resigned in a bribery¹⁰ scandal. After assuming the presidency¹¹, Ford worked to heal the bitterly divided nation - though his pardon of Richard Nixon was controversial.  He ran for president in 1976 but was defeated by Jimmy Carter.  

 
President Bush delivers a eulogy during funeral services for former President Gerald R. Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington, 2 Jan 2007
President Ford's remains¹² will be buried Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he grew up.  Many in Grand Rapids have placed flowers and other tributes to the former president at various points in the city.

Outside Ford's boyhood home, resident Dan Koorndyk recalled the former president.

 "When I was in high school he became president.  The whole Nixon-Watergate thing was happening. I thought he was a great man and the right person for the job at the time." 

A private funeral service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids Wednesday, following by a private burial at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

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 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。

3 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

4 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。

5 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

6 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

7 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

8 glibness   

n.花言巧语；口若悬河

参考例句：

• Mr Samgrass replied with such glibness and at such length, telling me of mislaid luggage. 桑格拉斯先生却油嘴滑舌，事无巨细地告诉我们说行李如何被错放了。 来自辞典例句

9 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

10 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。

11 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。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。