(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. This week in our series, we continue the story of America's forty-second president, Bill Clinton. He was a popular and successful president who was re-elected in nineteen ninety-six. But he also became only the second president in American history ever to be put on trial in Congress. Clinton's past in Arkansas became the source of accusations and questions about his character as he was running for president. These included questions about financial dealings with a land development company called Whitewater. In January of nineteen ninety-four, President Clinton asked Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint an independent lawyer to lead an investigation. She named a Republican, but some critics said her choice was too friendly to the Clinton administration. He was replaced by another Republican, Kenneth Starr.
In nineteen ninety-five the Senate Judiciary Committee began its own investigation of the president. The committee later reported that it had not found evidence of any crimes. However, because the committee was led by Democrats, there was continuing suspicion of the president among Republicans. The main cause of that suspicion dated back to a purchase of land in Arkansas years earlier. Bill and Hillary Clinton had bought the land in nineteen seventy eight -- the year he was first elected governor of that state. The Clintons formed the Whitewater Development Company with Susan and James McDougal. The goal was to sell vacation homes along a river. However, the company did poorly. James McDougal also owned Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, for which Hillary Clinton did legal work. Madison failed during the nineteen eighties. The McDougals were found guilty of wrongdoing in connection with that failure. A former local judge in Little Rock, the state capital, also became part of the story. In nineteen ninety-four David Hale pleaded guilty to charges of cheating the federal government. That case was in connection with a lending company he owned and was not connected to Whitewater. But Hale accused Bill Clinton of having pressured him while governor to loan money to Susan McDougal and other politically influential people. Clinton denied the accusations.
During the president's first term, investigators sought billing records for Hillary Clinton's past legal work for James McDougal. They wanted to know, in connection with the Whitewater investigation, how much time she had spent on that work. The first lady said she could not find the records. Then, in January of nineteen ninety-six, the billing records appeared without explanation in the White House. That mystery only added to the suspicions of some Americans. Others thought Kenneth Starr was just wasting taxpayer money on his investigation of the Clintons. They felt it was just for political reasons. The Whitewater investigation became increasingly complex and difficult to follow. In the end, President Clinton was never charged with any wrongdoing in connection with his financial dealings. But his legal problems did not stop there. In nineteen ninety-four, a former Arkansas state employee named Paula Jones sued President Clinton. She brought a civil action accusing him of sexual harassment while governor of Arkansas. In her lawsuit she said he had asked her for sex. A federal judge dismissed her case for lack of evidence.
Paula Jones appealed that ruling. Her lawyers said they wanted to prove that Clinton had a pattern of such behavior with female employees, including while president. They suspected that these included a twenty-one-year-old woman named Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky had worked as an unpaid intern in the White House. Kenneth Starr was still investigating the Whitewater case early in nineteen ninety-eight. He received permission to include Lewinsky in his investigation. "Hi." "How'd you know it was me?" "I have Caller ID." "What's it say?" "Linda Tripp." A former friend of Monica Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, had given Starr tape recordings of her telephone conversations with the younger woman. "I hate him." "No you don't." "I do." "You hate his behavior, at times." In the recordings, Lewinsky talked about her relationship with the president. What she told her Linda Tripp conflicted with the information she gave to lawyers for Paula Jones. She had told them that the relationship had not been sexual. Lawyers for Paula Jones also questioned President Clinton. He too denied that the relationship with Monica Lewinsky had been sexual. On January twenty-sixth, nineteen ninety-eight, the president stated his denial to the American public.
"But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie. Not a single time. Never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people." Later in the year, the president agreed to answer questions before a federal grand jury. "The opening statement I made is that I had inappropriate intimate contact. I take full responsibility for it. It wasn't her fault; it was mine. I do not believe that I violated the definition of sexual relations I was given by directly touching those parts of her body with the intent to arouse or gratify. And that's all I have to say." This was the first time an investigating jury had ever called a president to testify while in office. "This afternoon, in this room, from this chair, I testified before the Office of Independent Counsel and the grand jury. I answered their questions truthfully, including questions about my private life, questions no American citizen would ever want to answer. "Still, I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, both public and private. And that is why I am speaking to you tonight."
After his appearance, the president went on national television and admitted the nature of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He said his actions were a personal failure, but he denied trying to get her to lie about the relationship. "As you know, in a deposition in January, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinsky. While my answers were legally accurate, I did not volunteer information. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong." He said his actions were a personal failure. But he denied trying to get her to lie about the relationship. "But I told the grand jury today and I say to you now that at no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence or to take any other unlawful action. I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that." Kenneth Starr sent his final report to the House of Representatives. The report suggested that President Clinton may have committed impeachable crimes in trying to hide his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
In the United States, to impeach a president means to bring charges in the House of Representatives. The charges result in removal from office if the president is found guilty in a trial in the Senate. The chief justice of the United States serves as the judge and the senators serve as the jury. In December of nineteen ninety-eight, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Clinton. The House sent the charges to the Senate to hold a trial. The two articles of impeachment accused him of lying to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. Only one other president had ever been impeached. In eighteen sixty-eight, the House of Representatives brought charges against Andrew Johnson. The case related to his removal of a cabinet member. The Senate held a trial, but Andrew Johnson's presidency survived by one vote. The threat of impeachment led President Richard Nixon to resign in nineteen seventy-four over his cover-up of political wrongdoing in the Watergate case. "It is up to the members of the House of Representatives to vote their conscience on the Constitution and the law, which I believe are clear. And I have no intention of resigning. It's never crossed my mind."
Bill Clinton still had two years left as president. In public opinion surveys, two-thirds of the people said they opposed removing him from office. "What I want the American people to know, what I want the Congress to know, is that I am profoundly sorry for all I have done wrong in words and deeds. "I never should have misled the country, the Congress, my friends, or my family. Quite simply, I gave in to my shame. I have been condemned by my accusers with harsh words. "And while it's hard to hear yourself called deceitful and manipulative, I remember Ben Franklin's admonition that our critics are our friends, for they do show us our faults." The Senate decided President Clinton's future in February of nineteen ninety-nine. The one hundred senators held a trial to consider the charges and decide if he should be removed from office. Each charge required sixty-seven votes to find him guilty. Ten members of the Republican majority joined Democrats in voting to clear Clinton of the perjury charge. The Senate was evenly divided on the charge of interfering with justice. Thus, no guilty verdict. Bill Clinton remained president of the United States.
As a historical footnote, as it turned out, Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich was himself cheating on his wife while leading the impeachment action against President Clinton. The difference, Gingrich would say years later, was that Clinton was charged with lying after he legally swore to tell the truth. In October nineteen ninety-nine, Kenneth Starr resigned as the independent counsel. An assistant, Robert Ray, completed a final report on the Whitewater investigation. He issued his report in September two thousand. The report said there was not enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing by Bill or Hillary Clinton. The Clinton presidency covered much of the decade of the nineteen-nineties. The American cultural and social landscape of the nineties will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.put on trial 付诸审判；审判某人
The former President was demanding that he should be either put on trial or set free.
前总统要求要么对他进行审判，要么将他释放。
2.in connection with 关于；与……有关
13 men have been questioned in connection with the murder.
有13名男子因谋杀案受到盘问。
3.agree to 同意某事；赞成
I cannot but agree to your decision.
我不得不同意你的决定。
4.cross my mind 出现在我的脑海中
The possibility of failure did cross my mind.
我的确想过有失败的可能。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目，我是史蒂夫·恩伯。在本周的系列节目中，我们继续讲述美国第42任总统比尔·克林顿的故事。他是一位深受人们喜爱，而且又很成功的总统，他在1996年再次当选。但他也成为美国历史上第二位在国会受审的总统。克林顿过去在阿肯色州的经历，成为人们对他竞选总统时性格的指责和质疑的来源。这些问题包括与一家名为白水的土地开发公司的财务往来。1994年1月，克林顿总统要求司法部长珍妮特·雷诺任命一名独立律师领导调查。她提名了一位共和党人，但一些批评人士说，她的选择对克林顿政府过于友好。后来这位律师被另一位名为肯尼斯·斯塔尔的共和党人取代。
1995年，参议院司法委员会开始对总统进行调查。委员会后来报告说，没有发现任何犯罪的证据。然而，由于该委员会由民主党领导，共和党人仍对总统表示怀疑。可以追溯到几年前在阿肯色州购买土地的事宜，比尔·克林顿夫妇在1978年买下了这块土地，那一年他第一次当选该州州长。克林顿夫妇与苏珊·麦克道格尔和詹姆斯·麦克道格尔一起成立白水开发公司，其目标是出售沿河度假屋。然而，该公司业绩不佳。詹姆斯·麦克道尔还拥有麦迪逊抵押储贷银行，希拉里·克林顿处理其法律工作。麦迪逊银行在20世纪80年代倒闭，麦克道格尔夫妇被判犯有与经营倒闭有关的不当行为之罪。州首府小石城的一位前当地法官也成为了故事的一部分。1994年，大卫·黑尔承认欺骗联邦政府的指控。这起案件与他拥有的一家贷款公司有关，而与白水公司并无关联。但黑尔指责比尔·克林顿在担任州长期间向他施压，要求他把钱借给苏珊·麦克道格尔和其他有政治影响力的人。克林顿否认了这些指控。
在克林顿总统的第一个任期内，调查人员寻找希拉里·克林顿过去为詹姆斯·麦克道格尔处理法律事务的账单记录。他们想知道，她花了多少时间处理有关白水事件调查的工作。这位第一夫人表示，她找不到这些记录。随后，在1996年1月，账单记录莫名其妙地出现在白宫。这个谜团只让一些美国人表示更加怀疑，其他人认为肯尼斯·斯塔尔只是在把纳税人的钱浪费在调查克林顿一家上，他们觉得这只是出于政治原因。白水事件的调查变得越来越复杂，也难以跟进。最后，克林顿总统并未被指控在其金融交易方面存在任何不当行为。但他的法律问题并不止于此。最终，克林顿总统从未被指控在财务交易中有任何不当行为。但是他面临的司法官司并不仅限于此。1994年，一位名叫保拉·琼斯的前阿肯色州雇员起诉了克林顿总统。她提起民事诉讼，指控他在担任阿肯色州州长期间进行性骚扰。她在诉讼中表示克林顿要求和她发生性关系。一位联邦法官以缺乏证据为由驳回了她的案件。
保拉·琼斯对此裁决提出上诉。她的律师说，他们想证明克林顿对女性雇员存在这种行为模式，包括在担任总统期间也是如此。他们怀疑其中涉及一位名叫莫妮卡·莱温斯基的21岁女性。莱温斯基曾在白宫担任无薪实习生。肯尼斯·斯塔尔在1998年初仍在调查白水案件。他获准将莱温斯基纳入调查。“嗨。”“你怎么知道是我？”“我有来电显示。”“上面写着什么？”“琳达·特里普。”莫妮卡·莱温斯基的一位前朋友琳达·特里普，曾经把自己与这位年轻女性的电话通话录音交给斯塔尔。“我恨他。”“不，你不恨他。”“我恨他。”“你有时讨厌他的行为。”在录音中，莱温斯基谈到她与总统的关系。她告诉琳达·特里普的内容与她提供给保拉·琼斯律师的信息不符。她告诉他们，这段关系不是性关系。保拉·琼斯的律师也询问了克林顿总统，他也否认与莫妮卡·莱温斯基的关系是性关系。1998年1月26日，总统向美国公众表示否认。
“但是我想对美国人民说一件事。我希望你们听我说，我要再说一遍。我与那个女人莱温斯基女士没有性关系。我从未告诉过任何人说谎，一次都没有，从来没有过。这些指控是假的，我要回去为美国人民工作。”那年晚些时候，总统同意在联邦大陪审团面前回答问题。“我的开庭陈述是我曾做过不适当的亲密接触，我对此负全部责任。那不是她的错，是我的错。我不认为为了撩拨或获得满足，而去直接触摸她身体的某些部位，就违背了性关系的定义。这就是我要说的。”这是调查陪审团首次传唤总统出庭作证。“今天下午，在这个房间里，我坐在这张椅子上向独立检察官办公室和大陪审团作证。我如实地回答了他们的问题，包括关于我私生活的问题，任何美国公民都不愿意回答这些问题。“尽管如此，我必须对自己的所有公开或私人行为承担全部责任。这就是我今晚要给你们讲话的原因。”
总统出庭后，他上了国家电视台，并承认了与莫妮卡·莱温斯基的关系。他表示，他的行为是个人的失败，但他否认试图让莱温斯基对二人的关系撒谎。知道，在一月份的一份证词中，我被问及与莫妮卡·莱温斯基的关系。虽然我的回答在法律上是准确的，但我没有自愿提供信息。事实上，我确实和莱温斯基女士有过不恰当的关系。事实上，这是错误的。”他说，他的行为是个人的失败。但他否认试图让她就二人之间的关系撒谎。“但我今天告诉大陪审团，我现在要告诉你们，我从来没让任何人撒谎、隐瞒、销毁证据，或采取任何其他非法行动。我知道，我对此事的公开评论和沉默给人一种错误的印象。我误导了人们，甚至包括我妻子，我对此深感歉意。”肯尼斯·斯塔尔向众议院递交了他的最终报告。报告指出，克林顿总统试图掩盖与莫妮卡·莱温斯基的关系，可能犯下了可弹劾的罪行。
在美国，弹劾总统意味着向众议院提起指控。如果总统在参议院的审判中被判有罪，这些指控将导致总统免职。美国首席大法官担任法官，参议员出任陪审团。1998年12月，众议院投票通过弹劾克林顿总统。众议院将这些指控送交参议院进行审判。两份弹劾条款指控他对联邦大陪审团撒谎，妨碍司法公正。只有另外一位总统曾遭遇弹劾。1868年，众议院起诉安德鲁·约翰逊。该案与他罢免一名内阁成员有关。参议院进行了一次审判，但安德鲁·约翰逊的总统任期因一票而幸免。弹劾的威胁导致尼克松总统在1974年辞职，原因是他隐瞒了水门事件中在政治方面的不当行为。 “这取决于众议院议员对宪法和法律基于良知的投票，我认为这是清楚的。我也不打算辞职。我从没有过这种想法。”
比尔·克林顿的总统任期还有两年。在民意调查中，三分之二的民众表示反对罢免他。“我想让美国人民知道，我想让国会知道的是，我对自己在言行上所做的一切错事深表歉意。“我不应该误导国家、国会、朋友或家人。简单地说，我深感羞耻。我遭到了原告的严厉谴责。“虽然被别人骂为欺骗者和控制者很难让人接受，但我记得本·富兰克林曾告诫我们，批评我们的人是朋友，因为他们指出了我们的错误。”参议院在1999年2月裁定了克林顿总统的未来。100名参议员举行了一次审判，考虑这些指控，并决定是否应该将他免职。每项指控都需要67票，才能判处他有罪。多数派的10名成员加入民主党人，投票反对克林顿作伪证的控告。参议院在指控他妨碍公正的罪名方面出现分歧。因此，他最终被裁决为无罪。比尔·克林顿仍然是美国总统。
事实证明，共和党众议院议长纽特·金里奇在领导对克林顿总统的弹劾行动时，也在欺骗他的妻子。金里奇几年后会说，我们之间的不同是，克林顿在合法宣誓说实话后，被指控撒谎。1999年10月，肯尼斯·斯塔尔辞去了独立律师的职务。助手罗伯特·雷完成了关于白水事件调查的最终报告。他在2000年9月发表了他的报告。报告表示，没有足够的证据证明比尔或希拉里有任何不当行为。克林顿的总统任期涵盖了90年代的大部分时间，我们下期节目中将讲述90年代美国的文化和社会面貌。
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