VOA标准英语2012--US Representative Giffords Resigns Year After Arizona Shooting

US Representative Giffords Resigns Year After Arizona Shooting

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, recalled the shooting rampage on January 8 last year, saying the country will never forget those who lost their lives.
"A little more than a year ago, Americans witnessed a heinous¹ attack on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her staff and the citizens of Tucson," said Cantor. "This attack took 6 innocent lives including [congressional aide] Gabe Zimmerman, injured 13 and shook all of us in the congressional community, and in fact our nation, to its core."
The shooter, Jared Loughner, is undergoing court ordered treatment for schizophrenia in a federal prison in Arizona with the goal of making him fit to stand trial.
In the House chamber², which is often the scene of intense partisan³ debate, lawmakers stood crying, cheering and clapping as Representative Giffords slowly made her way to the podium, holding the arm of her close friend, Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
Wasserman-Schultz wept as she read Giffords's letter of resignation, where Giffords explained she is resigning to focus on her recovery.
"From my first steps and first words after being shot, to my current physical and speech therapy, I have given all of myself to being able to walk back onto the House floor this year to represent Arizona's 8th Congressional District. However, today, I know that now is not the time," said Wasserman-Schultz.
Giffords then handed her letter of resignation to Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner, who hugged her and cried.
Before the shooting, Giffords was widely admired in the House for reaching across the aisle⁴ to work with her Republican colleagues to find common sense solutions to problems.
"Congresswoman Giffords' message of bipartisan and civility is one that all in Washington and in the nation should honor and emulate," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. "As Gabby said in her video, which moved us all so much this weekend, 'We can do so much more by working together.'"
After the resignation ceremony, the House of Representatives, including Giffords, voted on her final piece of legislation, a bill that would impose tougher penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to avoid radar⁵ detection and bring drugs across the U.S. southern border with Mexico. The measure passed by a vote of 408 to 0.

1 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。