VOA标准英语2010年-US Army Continues to Probe Burial Mix-

Arlington National Cemetery¹ - just outside Washington - one of the nation's most hallowed sites. It's where the remains² of more than 300,000 service members are buried, including many who died in military conflicts dating back to the American Civil War.

As families come here to say their final goodbyes, the Army continues to deal with the fallout from an unfolding scandal over cemetery mismanagement.

John McHugh
"There's simply no excuse," said John McHugh, Secretary of the Army. "And on behalf of the U.S. Army and on behalf of myself, I deeply apologize to the families of the honored fallen resting in that hallowed ground who may now question the care afforded to their loved ones."

Army officials say as many as 6,600 graves at Arlington appear to be unmarked or mislabeled on cemetery maps. The revelations follow a seven-month investigation³ into poor record keeping and improper⁴ burials of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the discoveries: bodies buried on top of one another in the same grave, and unidentified cremated⁵ remains found in a landfill on the cemetery grounds.

After the scandal broke earlier this year, the cemetery's superintendent⁶ John Metzler and his deputy Thurman Higginbotham abruptly⁷ retired⁸. At a congressional hearing, Higginbotham tried to explain to Senator Claire McCaskill what went wrong.

Thurman Higginbotham
"Anything that's done by hand for 140-plus years, well there would have to be some errors somewhere," he said.

"It's called keeping track of who you bury where. That is not a complicated task," McCaskill replied.

So far, the Defense⁹ Department has received more than one thousand calls from concerned families who worry their loved ones might be buried in the wrong place.

One such call last month, from the concerned widow of a soldier, led to the discovery that her husband and another soldier had been buried in each other's graves.

Cemetery officials also exhumed¹⁰ the body of a Marine¹¹ killed in Iraq in 2006, but the family was able to positively¹² identify his remains.

Army spokesman Gary Tallman said officials were gratified the outcome in that case was positive.

Still, the scandal weighs on the minds of many of the cemetery's nearly four million annual visitors - such as Dee Lavery and her husband.

"It's inexcusable," she said. "This is someplace where heroes are buried and you should take better care of them than that."

The Army says it has begun to strengthen its management and oversight¹³ at Arlington Cemetery, including crosschecking grave sites and modernizing¹⁴ the recordkeeping system. But some family members of fallen soldiers say they still wonder whether their loved ones are properly resting in peace in the nation's premier¹⁵ military cemetery.
 

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 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。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

5 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

6 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

7 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 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。

10 exhumed   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens, New York City. 他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。 来自辞典例句

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 modernizing   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化，从而达到增加利润，增强竞争力的目的，是一件复杂的事情。
• The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。

15 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。