VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Attends Groundbreaking for New US Military

The U.S. military is about to begin construction on a new state-of-the-art medical facility in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports President Bush officiated at the official ground-breaking ceremony.

The Army is shutting down its aging Walter Reed Hospital in the nation's capital - a historic facility that in recent months has been criticized for providing poor living conditions for wounded troops.

A major effort is underway to correct flaws at the aging Army medical center. But this is only a short term solution. Walter Reed is getting a new home.
　
President Bush, center, during ceremonial ground-breaking for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, 03 Jul 2008

"I am so excited to be here for what is a grand occasion. This is a big deal, the breaking ground of a new joint¹ medical facility for the men and women of our Armed Forces" said President Bush.

President Bush says this new facility that is to be completed by 2011, will provide state-of-the art care to all branches of the military by merging² Walter Reed with the Navy's premier³ medical facility - Bethesda Naval⁴ Hospital.

The expanded compound will take on the Walter Reed name, and a new medical treatment, teaching, and research center will join the existing hospital on the Bethesda grounds. It will include a four-story in-patient building and a six-story out-patient building.

The president says personnel from all branches of the military will work together at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and share their expertise⁵.

"At this new center, wounds will be healed, medical knowledge will be advanced, lives will be rebuilt. And those who wear our nation's uniform will be reminded that they have the enduring gratitude⁶ of the American people," he said.

The new complex will also be in the same neighborhood as the U.S. government's main medical research facility - the National Institutes of Health. President Bush predicts greater cooperation between civilian⁷ and military medical personnel with the promise of breakthroughs in health care that will benefit everyone, not only U.S. troops.

　

 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 merging   

合并（分类）

参考例句：

• Many companies continued to grow by merging with or buying competing firms. 许多公司通过合并或收买竞争对手的公司而不断扩大。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• To sequence by repeated splitting and merging. 用反复分开和合并的方法进行的排序。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

6 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。