VOA慢速英语2014 美国特勤局局长辞职

In The News - US Secret Service Director Resigns 美国特勤局局长辞职

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

The head of the security force guarding the president of the United States resigned this week. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson offered her resignation on Wednesday, a day after she faced a United States congressional committee.

负责保护美国总统安全的安全部队负责人本周辞职。特勤局局长朱莉娅·皮尔逊（Julia Pierson）本周三提出了辞职，这距离她面对美国国会一个委员会（质询）仅隔一天。

Committee members spoke 1 with her at length about an incident two weeks ago at the White House. They wanted to know how a man was able to jumpover a fence and get deep inside the presidential home. President Barack Obama and his family were not in the building at the time.

委员会成员们就两周前在白宫发生的一起事故同她进行了充分交流。他们想知道一名男子如何得以越过围栏深入到总统所住的白宫。奥巴马总统及其家人当时并未在白宫。

The Secret Service has said the suspect, Omar Gonzalez, was arrested just inside the main entrance to the White House. Officials at first said he was unarmed. But it was later learned he was carrying a knife.

特勤局曾表示，犯罪嫌疑人奥马尔·冈萨雷斯（Omar Gonzalez）刚进入白宫正门就被逮捕。有关官员最初表示他未携带武器。但后来才得知他携带了一把刀。

Omar Gonzalez formerly 2 served in the U.S. military. He is now 42-years old and homeless, having no permanent place to live.

冈萨雷斯曾在美国军队中服役。他现年42岁，居无定所。

Last month, a judge ordered him held without bail 3, barring any possibility of release before action on his case. At the court hearing, government lawyers said that investigators 4 found ammunition 5, two hatchets 7 and a long knife inside his vehicle. They also said he was stopped, but not arrested, in August, after he walked past the White House with a hatchet 6. A month earlier, he was arrested in Virginia after state police found weapons in his car.

上个月，一名法官下令将他收监并拒绝保释，杜绝了在处理这起案件之前将他释放的任何可能性。在法庭听证会上，政府律师表示，调查人员在他的车上发现了弹药、两把斧头和一把长刀。他们还表示，8月份在他拿着一把斧头路经白宫之后被挡了下来，但并未被捕。一个月之前，弗吉尼亚州的州警察在他的汽车里发现武器之后将他逮捕。

On Tuesday, members of Congress sharply questioned Julia Pierson. She admitted that the Secret Service had made missteps.

周二，美国国会议员尖锐质询了皮尔逊。她承认特情局确有失误。

“It’s clear that our security plan was not properly executed. This is unacceptable, and I take full responsibility, and I will make sure that it does not happen again.”

“很显然，我们的安保计划未被正确执行。这是无法接受的，我承担全部责任。我也将会确保这种事不会再次发生。”

She was also asked about another incident. In 2011, gunfire hit the White House. But it took days for the Secret Service to discover that the building had been hit.

她还被问到另一起事件。在2011年有枪弹击中了白宫。但特勤局几天后才发现白宫被击中。

Several lawmakers blamed Ms. Pierson for sending mixed signals about whether agents could use deadly force if they felt the president is in danger. Some said the height of the White House fence was not the problem. They noted 8 that several levels of security failed to stop the fence-jumper until he had crossed the grounds, opened the door, and run through the main floor of the White House.

如果特工认为总统有危险，他们是否可以使用致命武力？一些国会议员指责皮尔逊女士在这件事上传达了矛盾信息。一些人表示，白宫围栏的高度不是问题。他们指出，多重安保都未能阻止冈萨雷斯这位翻越围栏者，直到他穿过草坪，打开门，跑进了白宫主层。

Hours after the committee hearing, news media began reporting about another security breach 9. It involved an armed security guard with a criminal record. He reportedly stood just centimeters from President Obama last month. The incident took place during the president’s visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

在国会委员会听证会过后的数个小时之后，新闻媒体报道了另一起安保漏洞。它涉及了一位有着犯罪记录的武装保安人员。据报道上个月他距离奥巴马总统仅几步之遥。这起事故发生在总统访问位于佐治亚州亚特兰大市的美国疾病控制预防中心期间。

A presidential spokesman told reporters that Mr. Obama learned of the incident shortly before it was made public. Spokesman Josh Earnest said the president continues to have complete trust in the Secret Service. He said Mr. Obama accepted Ms. Pierson’s resignation because he agreed with her judgment 10 that it was in the best interest of the agency.

一位总统发言人对记者表示，奥巴马总统在这一事故被公之于众前不久才得知此事。发言人乔希·欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)表示，总统仍然完全信任特勤局。他说，奥巴马总统接受了皮尔逊女士的辞职，因为他认同皮尔逊女士的判断，也觉得这样做符合特勤局的最大利益。

“They reached that conclusion because of the recent and accumulating reports about the performance of the agency, and that is what led the president to believe that new leadership is required.”

“他们达成这样的结论，是因为近期和长期以来关于该机构表现的报道。而正是这些使得总统认为，该机构需要一个新的领导班子。”

The press secretary said President Obama spoke by telephone to Ms. Pierson and expressed thanks for her 30 years with the Secret Service.

这位白宫新闻秘书表示，奥巴马总统同皮尔逊女士通了电话，对她在特勤局这30年来的工作表示了感谢。

A short time later, Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson announced her replacement 11. He is Joseph Clancy, a former Secret Service special agent. In a statement, Mr. Johnson noted how Secret Service agents protected the president and 140 visiting heads of state without incident last weekend. They were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Johnson added that, “no other protection service in the world could have done this.”

此后不久，国土安全部部长杰伊·约翰逊(Jeh Johnson)宣布了她的继任者为特勤局前特工约瑟夫·克兰西（Joseph Clancy）。在一份声明中，约翰逊先生提到了上周末特勤局特工是如何保护总统和140位来访国家元首平安无事。他们是到纽约参加联合国大会。约翰逊先生补充说，“全球没有哪家安保机构能到做到这些。”

And that’s In The News from VOA Learning English.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

Words in This Story

security – adj. freedom from danger or harm; protecting

jump – v. to push down on the feet and move up quickly into the air

suspect – v. to imagine or believe that someone is guilty of something bad or illegal

suspect - n.a person believed to be guilty

hatchet – n. a small axe 12; a tool used for cutting wood

breach – n.breaking or failing to obey a law or agreement