2007年VOA标准英语-Plan to Withdraw US Troops From Iraq Fails Sena

By Deborah Tate
Washington
18 July 2007

A Democratic-sponsored plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next April has failed a test vote in the U.S. Senate. The vote came after an all-night debate called by Democratic leaders to try to press more Republicans to back the plan. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Weary from the overnight debate, senators voted 52 to 47 to limit speeches and move the troop withdrawal² proposal to an up-or-down vote. Supporters needed 60 votes to move the legislation forward.

The vote was largely along party lines, although several Republicans voted with Democrats³.

Harry4 Reid (L), and Democratic Senator from New York Charles Schumer (R) during a press conference in the Senate Radio-Television Gallery  " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070721/1418510.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Senator Harry Reid (l), and Senator Charles Schumer (r) during a press conference at Senate Radio-Television Gallery, 18 July 2007

Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat¹, said Republicans were on the wrong side of the issue.

"They chose to stand behind the president in this tragic⁵ failure that he has led," he said.

Opponents, including Senator John McCain of Arizona, derided⁶ Democrats' decision to keep the Senate in session around the clock, with cots rolled out and pizza delivered late into the night.

"All we achieved are remarkably⁷ similar newspaper accounts of our inflated⁸ sense of the drama of this display and our own temporary physical fatigue," said McCain.

Those opposed to the troop withdrawal proposal echoed the White House position as they urged fellow lawmakers to wait to assess the situation in Iraq until the top U.S. commander there, General David Petraeus, briefs Congress in September.

"Give General Petraeus and [U.S.] Ambassador [to Iraq Ryan] Crocker 60 more days to prepare their assessment," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's top Republican. "At that point, we will have allowed the Baghdad security plan three months to work since it became fully⁹ manned last month."

But Senator Jack¹⁰ Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and key sponsor of the troop withdrawal plan, argued otherwise.

"The longer we delay, the more public support erodes¹¹, and options to avoid a more chaotic¹² redeployment disappear," said Reed.

Reed's proposal, offered as an amendment¹³ to a defense¹⁴ bill, called for a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days and completed by the end of April of next year.

As senators prepared to vote, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with key lawmakers to rally support for the administration's Iraq policy.

After the vote, Majority Leader Reid withdrew the defense bill, along with various Iraq-related proposed amendments¹⁵, from Senate consideration for the time being. But he vowed¹⁶ to keep returning to the issue until Congress votes to change the U.S. course in Iraq.

1 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。

2 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。

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 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。

5 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

6 derided   

v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His views were derided as old-fashioned. 他的观点被当作旧思想受到嘲弄。
• Gazing up to the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity. 我抬头疑视着黑暗，感到自己是一个被虚荣心驱使和拨弄的可怜虫。 来自辞典例句

7 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

8 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 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。

11 erodes   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的第三人称单数 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The sea erodes the rock. 海水侵蚀岩石。
• The sea erodes the land. 海洋侵蚀陆地。

12 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

13 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

16 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。