VOA标准英语2011-Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, 40, has been shot at a public event on Saturday in her home state. Several others were killed, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl.

The director of trauma¹ surgery at the University of Arizona hospital, where Giffords was taken, said he is optimistic about her recovery.

FBI agents were rushed to the shooting scene near a Safeway grocery store in northwest Tucson, where Democratic Congresswoman Giffords was hosting a public event to speak with her constituents².

Witnesses say a gunman ran up and fired off 15 to 20 shots. They say the young man shot the congresswoman in the head, before trying to run off.

But witnesses say he was tackled by a bystander, and taken into custody³.

President Barack Obama released a statement at the White House saying the shooting was a senseless and terrible act of violence that has no place in a free society.?

Right before the shooting, the congresswoman for Arizona's 8th congressional district had used the micro-blogging site Twitter to write that her first so-called "Congress on Your Corner" event was starting. She asked people to let her know what was on their mind.

Giffords was re-elected to her third term in November. Her office was among the politicians whose offices were targeted with vandalism and threats during the health care debate in 2009.

Republican lawmakers who won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives have called for a repeal⁴ of the health care reform signed into law by President Obama last year.

Giffords was also one of the lawmakers who was targeted on a map with simulated gun sights for supporting the health care bill on a website run by a political action committee supporting former Republican Vice⁵ Presidential candidate Sarah Palin

Heated political debates in Arizona, which is on the border with Mexico, have also recently taken place around the issue of illegal immigration.

In an interview with C-Span television, Congresswoman Giffords gave some of her biography and explained why she had gotten into politics.

"I am a third generation southern Arizonian and I went off to school, was working for Price Waterhouse in New York City, and was asked to come home to run my family's tire and automotive business," said Giffords. "I first got involved with politics because I was frustrated⁶ when I was opening up my newspaper every single morning and seeing my great state of Arizona continuing to be at the bottom, whether it be poor-people funding, or mental health funding, or making sure that we could preserve our beautiful open spaces and in life you can either complain about something or you can try to fix it so I decided⁷ to run for political office."

Giffords recently married astronaut Mark Kelly

1 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

2 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

5 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。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。