TOEIC閱讀即戰力（二）打通閱讀的任督二脉II
　　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.
　　

mislead

v.　誤導

　　［筆者按］這段話意味著：我沒有要別人撒謊、隱藏或摧毀證據，或者採取不法行動（是我自己撒謊…）。我公開的談話也好、沉默也好，都會造成你們錯誤的印象（你們真的不好「款待」）。我深深地regret（遺憾）。但是我絕對不講I’m very sorry for that. 或者I sincerely apologize for that. 因為這件事情沒那麼嚴重嘛！
　　“I can only tell you I was motivated by many factors. First, by a desire to protect myself from the embarrassment of my own conduct.
　　“I was also very concerned about protecting my family. The fact that these questions were being asked in a politically inspired lawsuit, which has since been dismissed, was a consideration, too.
　　

motivate	v.　激起，促使
conduct	n.　行為，處理方式
inspired	a. 　被激起(喚起)的
lawsuit	n.　（非刑事案件的）訴訟
dismiss	v.　駁回，不受理

　　［筆者按］這段話的意思：我撒謊，是因為不願意受困窘嘛！我還顧慮到家人呢！（我的老婆Hillary Clinton可不好惹的！）還有，這絕對是政治化的訴訟造成的（可能是政治迫害）！
　　“In addition, I had real and serious concerns about an independent counsel investigation that began with private business dealings 20 years ago, dealings I might add about which an independent federal agency found no evidence of any wrongdoing by me or my wife over two years ago.
　　“The independent counsel investigation moved on to my staff and friends, then into my private life. And now the investigation itself is under investigation.
　　

business dealings	商業交易，商務關係
federal agency	聯邦機構
wrongdoing	n.　違法，犯罪
move on to	轉向

　　［筆者按］這段話牽扯到過往的Whitewatergate（白水門醜聞）：那該死的獨立檢察官Kenneth Starl！他從1994年起，就開始調查我擁有50%股份的Whitewater Department Corporation，說什麼官商勾結啦，妨礙司法、作偽證啦！還好，當時上帝正在睡覺，Starl找不到確切的證據。但是，天殺的，該死！他轉向調查我的員工，甚至於私生活吔！Starl調查了幾年，花了近千萬美元的公帑，耗費鉅大的社會成本，他的調查報告和資料堆滿了好幾個房間！他現在也在被調查是否過度浪費民脂民膏。活該！該死的Kenneth Starl！
　　“This has gone on too long, cost too much and hurt too many innocent people.
　　“Now, this matter is between me, the two people I love most – my wife and our daughter – and our God. I must put it right, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to do so.
　　“Nothing is more important to me personally. But it is private, and I intend to reclaim my family life for my family. It’s nobody’s business but ours.
　　

reclaim

v.　重得，取回

　　［筆者按］這段話的意思是：這件八卦也扯太久了。可不要因為我是美國總統，就緊追不放，還累及無辜！這是我的私事，不干別人的閒事哪！
　　“Even presidents have private lives. It is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on with our national life.
　　“Our country has been distracted by this matter for too long, and I take my responsibility for my part in all of this. That is all I can do.
　　

pry	v.　刺探，打聽
distract	v.　使分心（分散注意力）

　　［筆者按］雖然我是總統，也有私生活啊！你們不要被這件緋聞，噢，不對！不要被「不恰當的關係」的閒話，分散了注意力！當然，我是該負全責的啦！
　　“Now it is time – in fact, it is past time to move on.
　　“We have important work to do – real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real security matters to face.
　　

more on

變換花樣，花樣翻新

　　［筆者按］這是換個話題的時候了！我們有正事要辦、有問題等著解決、有安全問題要面對吔！
　　“And so tonight, I ask you to turn away from the spectacle of the past seven months, to repair the fabric of our national discourse, and to return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the next American century.
　　Thank you for watching. And good night.”
　　

spectacle	n.　異常的事(現象)
fabric	n.　結構
discourse	n.　交談
promise	n.　前途，希望

　　［筆者按］今晚，就拜託各位換個話題吧！我們必須轉移注意力到下一個美國人的世紀的挑戰和願景，這才對嘛！這段話讓筆者回想起求學時代的演講或作文，在結尾的時候，都必然加上：我們要處變不驚、慎