2006年VOA标准英语-Former Air Force Cadet Airs Charges of Rapes, O
时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2006年VOA标准英语(六月)
By Carolyn Weaver 1
Washington, DC
30 June 2006
watch report Sexual Harrasment
The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was rocked by charges of sexual assults in 2003.
A military jury acquitted 2 a U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadet of rape 3 on June 27, but found him guilty on several other charges, including extorting 4 sexual favors from a female cadet. It was the first court-martial in the 130-year history of the Coast Guard Academy, and may signal change in how charges of rape and sexual assault are handled in the armed services. The same day, Congressman 6 Christopher Shays held a subcommittee hearing on the subject of sexual assault in the military, particularly at the academies that prepare young men and women for service in the Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines.
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Subcommittee Chair Congressman Christopher Shays promised more hearings on the issue
Congressman Shays said he and other members questioned the commitment of the Department of Defense 7 to respond aggressively to the problem. The hearing centered on the testimony 8 of one young woman, Elizabeth Davis, a former cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Now 25, Davis told the subcommittee, "I was raped 9 and assaulted repeatedly my freshman 10 year by a superior cadet in my squadron. In earlier sexual assault briefings during my training," she testified, "upper-class women cadets informed us that it was very likely that we would be raped or sexually assaulted during our time at the academy, and they instructed us that if we were attacked, to not report it to authorities because it would effectively destroy our career."
Davis says when she finally reported the rapes 11, she was branded mentally ill by an academy psychologist who told her he had been ordered to do so by an academy commander. She was then charged with serious infractions and forced to resign.
Former Air force cadet Elizabeth Davis, testifying to a Congressional subcommittee (June 27, 2006)
"To my shock and dismay, the demerits were for ‘sex in the dorms,' because my rapes took place in the dormitory," she testified, "‘fraternization,' because my rapist was an upperclassman, and ‘alcohol' because I had included in my charges that my perpetrator had been buying alcohol for my underage peers. As my world and everything I believed in crumbled 12 before me, I realized I was being castigated 13 and thrown out of the academy for reporting the heinous 14 crimes that had been committed against me."
Several top Air Force Academy officials retired 15 or were reassigned after accusations 16 by Davis and several other female cadets became public in 2003. But none of the military officials has been disciplined for Davis's treatment. Congressman Shays and several committee members expressed outrage 17. "The testimony I've heard today," Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney told the hearing room, "is that if you're raped, you're thrown out of the military with charges against you so you cannot get a job in the military or government again. Yet if you're the rapist, you just might get a promotion 18. Or if you're discharged, you're quietly discharged."
Congressman Shays said, "You basically had brutality 19 take place, testimony that all the women were told, ‘you will be raped and you must deal with it.' And then you have testimony that the people who raped are alive and well in our military, prospering 20."
Brigadier General Susan Desjardins, appointed commandant of the Air Force Academy in December 2005
During a break in the hearing, the Air Force Academy's current commandant, Brigadier General Susan Desjardins, said that Davis's experience was very regrettable, but that changes have been made. "She was there in 1999 and experienced these incidents through 2001," Desjardins told a reporter. "And 2003 is when this came to light, and with crisis -- which this certainly was for the Air Force Academy, and really for the Air Force, and ultimately the Department of Defense -- we found an opportunity. And we've taken the recommendations from various task forces, and we've made a series of changes. And we are cautiously optimistic that those changes are taking hold. But a testimony like this keeps the light -- the focus -- on the fact that we're not through."
Vice 5 Admiral Rodney P. Rempt, superintendent 21 of the U.S. Naval 22 Academy, said his institution is changing, too. "I can tell you this, I'm the one personally accountable for anything that goes on at the Naval Academy," he said, "and I take that very seriously, especially with regard to sexual harassment 23 and misconduct and assault. It is my goal to ensure that every single midshipman knows what we expect of them and to hold them to that high level of performance. as well as my faculty 24 and staff."
But Elizabeth Davis said that a "rape culture" still exists in the service academies -- and that most of her former female classmates later told her that they, too, had been assaulted. When Congressman David Price asked Davis, "Would you feel comfortable recommending to a young woman that she pursue education at a service academy?" her answer was emphatic 25. "Absolutely not," she said, "We're still hearing cases of women coming out of the academies absolutely distraught, having been through the exact same thing that I went through. It's really a shame. It's such an injustice 26."
Congressman Shays said that the hearing has caused him to add additional hearings to the subcommittee's schedule, to include the testimony of many other women who have charged they were sexually assaulted while students at the military academies
- She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
- The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
- The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
- Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
- The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
- He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。
- Corrupt government officials were extorting money from him. 腐败的政府官员向他敲诈钱财。 来自辞典例句
- He's been charged with extorting protection money from the shopkeepers. 他被指控对店主敲诈勒索保护费。 来自互联网
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
- He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
- A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
- We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致,不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句
- Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
- He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。
- The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
- The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网
- He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
- Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了,我们的希望也破灭了。
- He castigated himself for being so stupid. 他责怪自己太笨。
- He castigated the secretaries for their sloppy job of filing. 由于秘书们档案工作搞得马虎草率,他严厉地斥责了他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
- Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
- There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
- He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。
- 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。
- The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
- The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级,加了薪。
- The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
- a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军
- Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
- His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。
- He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
- He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
- He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
- The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
- She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
- The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。
- He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
- He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。