VOA标准英语2012--Access to Birth Control Sparks US Political Controversy

Access to Birth Control Sparks US Political Controversy¹

"What I want to know is where are the women? When I look at this panel, I don't see one single woman representing the tens of millions of women across the country," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage² when the House Oversight³ and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the Obama administration's birth control coverage⁴ mandate⁵.
Republican chairman Darrell Issa defended the panel.
"This hearing is about religious freedom. As you will note, the men that you have noted⁶ come from denominations⁷ other than Roman Catholic," he said.
A week later, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi held a hearing on women's health and birth control, and invited the woman witness that Democrats⁸ wanted for Issa's panel
"Democrats are prepared to hear from a single witness today, our Georgetown [University] law student Sandra Fluke," Pelosi said.
Fluke said the Roman Catholic university she attends does not cover birth control as part of its health insurance plan for students.
"Contraception, when it first became available, was a revolution in this country. It allowed women to enter employment and educational opportunities that had previously⁹ not been accessible because they were unable to control their reproduction in the same way. And I just can't imagine rolling back the clock on that progress," Fluke said.
Birth control is also an issue in the U.S. presidential race. Republican hopeful Rick Santorum speaks out repeatedly against birth control.
"Many in the Christian¹⁰ faith have said, 'Well, that's okay; contraception is okay.' It is not okay. It is a license¹¹ to do things in the sexual realm that are counter to how things are supposed to be," Santorum said.
Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call writer Ambreen Ali says she did not expect birth control to be a campaign issue.
"Given the way that the economy was going for the past couple of years and the focus on jobs, it is a little bit surprising that we are talking about a social issue such as birth control. But this has always, you know, women's health and abortion¹² and birth control has always been a really big issue in this country," Ali said.
Some political analysts¹³ say criticism of the president over birth control might help Republican presidential hopefuls win over conservative voters in their primary election fights, but that it will likely hurt their chances with women voters in the general election. Recent surveys show President Obama's public approval rating among women is climbing.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 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。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 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。

7 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。