Description

Recess averts Epstein vote

House Speaker Mike John­son, centre, announces that the US House of Rep­res­ent­at­ives will go into recess a day earlier than sched­uled to avoid a vote on releas­ing files relat­ing to Jef­frey Epstein.

As Don­ald Trump’s allies seek to con­tain a spiralling crisis over the dis­graced fin­an­cier’s ties to the US pres­id­ent, John­son yes­ter­day said that mem­bers of Con­gress would today start their sum­mer break for five weeks — a day earlier than sched­uled. They are not expec­ted to return until Septem­ber.

John­son said Demo­crats were using the Epstein case as a “polit­ical bat­ter­ing ram”, adding: “We’re not going to allow them to engage in that charade any­more.” But sev­eral Repub­lican House mem­bers have also called for the socalled Epstein files to be made pub­lic, with some of the loudest voices com­ing from Trump’s Maga move­ment.

1. avert

意思：避免、防止（坏事发生）

常用于外交、战争、经济危机等情境
例句：The government took emergency measures to avert a financial crisis.
政府采取紧急措施以避免金融危机。

2. spiralling crisis

意思：螺旋式上升的危机；持续恶化的危机

spiralling（= spiral out of control）：迅速升级、失控
例句：The country is struggling to deal with a spiralling economic crisis.
这个国家正努力应对日益恶化的经济危机。

3. disgraced

意思：失势的、身败名裂的、蒙羞的

常形容被揭露丑闻的政治人物或公众人物
例句：The disgraced CEO resigned after the scandal broke.
丑闻曝光后，这位身败名裂的CEO辞职了。

4. battering ram

意思：攻城锤（原意）；（比喻）用来强行突破障碍的工具、方式、手段

在新闻语境中，常作比喻义，如政策或媒体舆论的“冲击波”
例句：The new tax policy was used as a battering ram against the middle class.
新税收政策被用作打压中产阶级的工具。

5. charade

意思：闹剧；虚假的表演；假象

表示某种装模作样、掩盖真相的行为
例句：The peace talks were a charade — neither side was serious.
这场和平谈判是一出闹剧——双方都不是真心的。