VOA标准英语2008年-Profile: Kennedy Has Long Been One of Democrati

By Jim Bertel
Washington
20 May 2008
 

Democratic Senator Edward "Ted¹" Kennedy was hospitalized on 17 May 2008 in the northeastern state of Massachusetts after suffering a seizure².  His physicians say the 76-year-old senator has a malignant³ brain tumor⁴.   VOA's Jim Bertel has more on the career of this Democratic political icon⁵.

Senator Edward Kennedy is the patriarch of America's most famous political family and after more than 40 years in the U.S. Senate, is still one of the most influential⁶ members of the Democratic Party. In January he threw his considerable star power behind Senator Barack Obama's campaign to be president of the United States.

"I know what America can achieve," Senator Kennedy said.  "I've seen it. I've lived it. And with Barack Obama, we can do it again."

Obama has drawn⁷ comparisons to Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated⁸ in 1963. Tragedy has been intertwined with the Kennedy family's political aspirations⁹. His brother Robert Kennedy was gunned down while running for president in 1968.

Edward Kennedy was born in Boston in 1932. He won his Senate seat in 1962 and is now the second-longest serving member of the Senate.

He has been a frequent critic of the Bush administration and a leading critic of the war in Iraq. But he has also reached across party lines to promote his causes. Kennedy worked closely with President George Bush to pass a groundbreaking education bill.

"The folks at the Crawford Coffee Shop would be somewhat in shock when I told them I actually liked the fella. He's a fabulous¹⁰ United States senator," commented President Bush.

Despite his famous political pedigree, Senator Kennedy never achieved his dream of becoming president. His political career nearly ended in 1969 when he drove off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. His passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne died in the crash. Kennedy waited hours before reporting the accident to police, causing the most serious crack in Kennedy's public image. He later ran for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹¹ in 1980, but lost to incumbent¹² Jimmy Carter.

Since then, Kennedy has devoted¹³ himself to his work in the Senate. He became a tireless spokesman for liberal causes and, as such, a favorite target of Republicans. In 2006, Kennedy was selected by Time magazine as one of "America's 10 Best Senators." The magazine noted¹⁴ that he had "amassed¹⁵ a titanic¹⁶ record of legislation affecting the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country." 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

3 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

4 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

5 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

9 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

10 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

11 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

12 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。