2007年VOA标准英语-US Congress Convenes Under Democrats With First

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
04 January 2007

Pledging honesty in government, and a change in direction in Iraq, the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives has vowed¹ to seek common ground with opposition² Republicans. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on the opening day of the 110th Congress with Democrats⁴ in control on Capitol Hill for the first time in 12 years and claiming a mandate⁵ from the November elections.

 
House Minority Leader John Boehner (r) hands the gavel to newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi 
Nancy Pelosi, a liberal congresswoman from California, becomes the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government, second in the presidential line of succession after Vice⁶ President Dick Cheney.

After the traditional reading of the roll call of all 435 House members for which she was present, she made a ceremonial re-entry to a chamber⁷ packed with lawmakers amid thunderous applause and a standing⁸ ovation⁹.

With her children and grandchildren looking on, Pelosi called her election a historic moment not only for the country, but for American women.

"It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years! Never losing faith, we waited through the years of struggle to achieve our rights," she said. "But women weren't just waiting, women were working. Never losing faith we worked to redeem¹⁰ the promise of America, that all men, and women, are created equal."

Handing the gavel to Pelosi, Republican leader John Boehner also recognized the historic nature of the occasion, and sounded this theme of bipartisanship.

"Today, the Democrat³ [ic] party assumes the challenge and opportunity of majority power in the people's house," he said. "Republicans will hold the incoming majority accountable for its promises and its actions. But we also want to work with the incoming majority for the good of the nation that we were all elected to serve."

The Washington power shift reflects the outcome of the November congressional election, and has Democrats controlling the House by 233 to 202, with a razor thin margin¹³ of 51 to 49 seats in the Senate.

In coming weeks, the situation in Iraq will present challenges to both sides, as President Bush submits new military spending requests and his 2008 fiscal¹⁴ year budget.

Pelosi said the November election reflected Americans' rejection¹⁵ of an open-ended approach on Iraq, and their desire for a path leading to the withdrawal¹⁶ of U.S. forces from Iraq.

"Shortly, President Bush will address the nation on the subject of Iraq," she said. "It is the responsibility of the president to articulate a new plan for Iraq, that makes it clear to the Iraqis that they must defend their own streets and their own security, a plan that promotes stability in the region and a plan that allows us to responsibly redeploy our troops."

 
Senate Majority Leader Harry¹⁷ Reid gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington
Pledges of bipartisanship were also heard from the Senate, where Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared with Republican Minority leader in that chamber, Mitch McConnell.

"Our efforts are going to be to work in a bipartisan basis, in an open fashion, to solve the problems of the American people," Reid said.

"That we get past the level of partisanship¹² that we have witnessed in recent years, and develop stronger personal relationships, as well as work across [the] party aisles," said McConnell

Senator Reid was asked by reporters how pledges of bipartisanship will hold up amid debate over a way forward in Iraq.

"Iraq is where it is," he said. "The country is where it is. Iraq is an issue that we all need to work on, and we will work on that, and we will on that to the best of our ability in a bipartisan manner.

As early as next week, Democratic-controlled committees will focus on Iraq, with exhaustive probes expected into Bush administration Iraq policies.

The Democratic agenda, involving efforts to pass key legislation in the first 100 hours of House business, formally begins next week.

 
110th Congress is sworn in at US Capitol in Washington, 4 Jan 2007
However, Democrats moved immediately to introduce rule changes governing how business is done in the House, sparking the first partisan¹¹ exchanges and complaints from Republicans about majority intentions.

One of the Democrat's first key efforts is to impose new restrictions¹⁸ on the relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists.

This reflects Democrats' determination to draw a distinction between them and Republican rule, which was marked by influence-pedaling scandals, including one involving former lobbyist Jack¹⁹ Abramoff, whose name was linked to both Republicans and Democrats.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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》

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 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。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

10 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

11 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。

12 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

14 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

15 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

16 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

17 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 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。