2007年VOA标准英语-US Veterans, Family Members Testify on Military
时间:2019-02-02 作者:英语课 分类:2007年VOA标准英语(三月)
By Dan Robinson
Washington
05 March 2007
US lawmakers are pledging strong action in the wake of the latest revelations regarding poor conditions wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have faced at a key Army medical hospital. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on an unusual public hearing at the facility, steps under way in Congress and what President Bush has said about the situation.
The scandal over unsanitary and other sub-standard conditions at a building at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center has already resulted in the dismissal of the secretary of the Army by Defense 1 Secretary Robert Gates and the replacement 2 of the head of the facility.
However, House and Senate lawmakers want more done. They are demanding the creation of an independent commission and a wider government probe into bureaucratic 3 and other problems affecting veterans.
The first in a series of hearings took place Monday when members of a House subcommittee went to the Walter Reed facility.
"This is absolutely the wrong way to treat our troops, and serious reforms need to happen immediately," said Democratic Congressman 4 John Tierney.
Spec. Jeremy Duncan and Annette McLeod, wife of Cpl. Wendell McLeod, testify before a House Oversight 5 and Government Reform subcommittee hearing at Walter Reed Medical Center, 5 March 2007
Wounded veterans and family members testified about tangled 6 bureaucracy slowing or preventing urgently needed care.
Jeremy Duncan, a U.S. Army Specialist receiving treatment at Walter Reed for wounds suffered in an explosion in Iraq, testified about conditions he saw in a building there.
"There is no way they couldn't have known," he said. "Everybody had to have known somewhere, if they wanted to actually look at it or pay attention or believe it."
Staft Sgt. John Shannon testifies before House subcommittee at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, 5 March 2007
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant 7 John Shannon, who lost an eye after being shot during a battle near the Iraqi city of Ramadi, says system-wide reforms are needed.
"A system that fires people down the chain, once again in my opinion is indicative of a system that is trying to protect itself whether it fixes the problem or not, and in my opinion [is] clearly not focused on fixing the problem," he said.
Military officials who have been in charge at the Walter Reed facility offered apologies during the hearing.
Major General George Weightman was the commander before he was dismissed last week.
"It is clear [that] mistakes were made, and I was in charge," he said. " We can't fail one of these soldiers, or their families, not one, and we did."
Lieutenant 8 Gen. Kevin Kiley, left, and Major Gen. George Weightman testify before House subcommittee hearing at Walter Reed Medical Center, 5 March 2007
Weightman's temporary replacement, Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, called steps to simplify bureaucracy urgent, and had this apology for conditions at Walter Reed.
"I am personally and professionally sorry and I offer my apologies to the soldiers, the families, the civilian 9 and military leadership of the Army and Department of Defense, and to the nation," he said.
Documents Congress is examining include an internal Army memo 10 indicating high-level officials at Walter Reed and the U.S. Army Medical Command were warned in 2006 that a process of privatizing positions dealing 11 with patient care, and an influx 12 of wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, threatened to overwhelm the system.
Republican Congressman Tom Davis says the Pentagon was unprepared for the number of wounded, currently at least 22,000 from Iraq alone.
"The Pentagon somehow failed to anticipate that deploying 13 unprecedented 14 numbers of reserve component 15 troops into combat would produce an unprecedented flow of casualties," he said. "As a result, the defense department has been scrambling 16 ever since to lash 17 together last century procedures and systems to care for returning citizen soldiers."
Controversy 18 about conditions for wounded veterans comes as President Bush faces sharply eroded 19 public support for the war in Iraq, and opposition 20 to new troop deployments.
White House spokesman Tony Snow was asked by reporters Monday what specific steps the president and others are taking.
"What he has been doing is making sure that people take a good look to find out what this situation is," he said. "No excuses, get the facts, get it fixed 21."
The president asked Congress for $87 billion for the Veterans Administration for 2008. He said that military health care spending has gone up by 83 percent since 2001.
While the Walter Reed scandal puts pressure on all members of Congress to come up with a solution, it also poses challenges for majority Democrats 22.
Before last November's mid-term congressional election, they accused Republicans of short-changing military veterans in the government budget.
Facing a tight budget situation, Democrats must now determine how to respond to long-standing flaws and correct deficiencies in the nationwide military health care system.
- 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。
- We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
- They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。
- The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
- In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔,也必须通过繁琐的手续。
- He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
- The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
- 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。
- His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
- How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
- He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
- He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
- There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
- He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
- Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗?
- Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗?
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
- The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
- Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施,因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。
- Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
- Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。
- The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
- A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
- Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
- Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
- Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发,冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
- With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。
- 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。
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
- Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。