After stepping down this summer as the head of the EPA, the embattled Christine Todd Whitman is once again in the hot seat. This time it's over her role in the downplaying of health hazards for New York City residents after 9/11. A report by the EPA inspector general says that Whitman assured the public that the air was safe before testing was conclusive. She's also under fire for allowing EPA statements to be filtered through the White House and screened by the Council on Environmental Quality, which is chaired by James Connaughton, a lawyer who formerly represented the asbestos industry.

　　The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. But New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler accuses the administration of covering up a potential health danger in order to get the economy up and running. "Many people will die early because of this," says Nadler.

　　In her first interview since the release of the report, Whitman tells NEWSWEEK that she did not object when the White House edited out cautionary notes by EPA scientists. "We didn't want to scare people," she said, explaining that spikes in asbestos readings tended to return quickly to acceptable levels. She believes that much of the data were open to interpretation, and that the public wasn't harmed by the White House's decision to adopt the more reassuring analysis. But New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is calling for an investigation, saying she knows how the White House works and that somebody surely leaned on the EPA to lie. "We were not told to lie," says Whitman.

　　Firefighters and other rescue workers suffering health problems continue to blame the EPA for failing to make them aware of the risks. The EPA advised wearing protective clothing and masks, Whitman says, but many working on the site rejected the gear as too cumbersome. "We couldn't force them to do it," says Whitman. In addition, residents returning to the area say they weren't told to have their homes professionally cleaned. "Maybe there was one press release where we didn't say that, but then we said it over and over," says Whitman.

　　EPA's former ombudsman said soon after 9/11 that Whitman had a conflict of interest because of her husband's connection to Citigroup, which owns Travelers Insurance. By pronouncing lower Manhattan safe, critics say, Whitman saved the insurance giant millions in cleanup costs. Whitman was cleared of the conflict by the EPA inspector general. "There's no way in hell--excuse my language--that I would ever, ever play games with this kind of information."

　　1． What conclusion can we make from the first paragraph
　　[A]White House shouldn’t be informed of the EPA statements.
　　[B]Whitman shouldn’t have made such a hasty conclusion about the air.
　　[C]The public had strong objection against Whitman’s doings after 9/11
　　[D]Whitman had got unfair treatment.

　　2． The author uses the example of firefighters and other rescue workers’ suffering to show that ______.
　　[A]someone should be responsible for their health condition.
　　[B]they should have been warned against the possible results in advance.
　　[C]it was their own fault for not wearing the protective clothes and masks.
　　[D]their equipments are out of date and fail to function well.

　　3． Hillary Clinton’s attitude toward Whitman’s remarks is one of ________.
　　[A]reserved consent
　　[B]strong disapproval
　　[C]slight contempt
　　[D]enthusiastic support

　　4．Facing charges against her, Whitman seemed to defend herself quite _________.
　　[A]extravagantly
　　[B]cautiously
　　[C]flexibly
　　[D]forcefully

　　5.The text intends to express that __________.
　　[A]Whitman has been proved innocent in this event.
　　[B]everything connected with 9/11 should be exposed
　　[C]Whitman has a good defense for what she has done
　　[D]Whitman shouldn’t be blamed for her doings.

　　答案：CABDC

　　篇章剖析

　　本文主要讲述美国前环保署署长惠特曼所面对的谴责和批评，以及她又是如何为自己辩解和开脱的。第一段指出惠特曼所面对的麻烦和受到的谴责；第二段指出纽约代表对当局的指控；第三段、四段和五段指出惠特曼为自己所做的辩解和开脱。

　　词汇注释

　　step down v.走下, 逐步减低, 辞职, 下台

　　EPA abbr. Environmental Protection Agency 美国环保署

　　hot seat 这个俗语指的是那种可能会产生麻烦，或让人感到难堪的局面

　　downplay[`daJnpleI]vt.不予重视

　　under fire adv.受攻击

　　filter[5fIltE(r)]vt.过滤, 渗透, 用过滤法除去

　　filter through 慢慢传开；渗透

　　inhale[In5heIl]vt.吸入vi.吸气

　　contaminate[kEn5tAmIneIt]v.污染

　　edit out v.编辑中删除

　　spike[spaIk]n突然增长

　　lean on（俚语）恐吓，对…施加压力

　　cumbersome[5kQmbEsEm]adj.讨厌的, 麻烦的, 笨重的

　　conflict of interest n.（政府官员以权谋私等的）公私利益冲突

　　ombudsman[5RmbJdzmEn]n.调查官员舞弊情况的政府官员

　　难句突破

　　She's also under fire for allowing EPA statements to be filtered through the White House and screened by the Council on Environmental Quality, which is chaired by James Connaughton, a lawyer who formerly represented the asbestos industry.

　　主体句式：She’s … under fire for allowing … statements to be filtered through … and screened …

　　结构分析：本句并不难，关键是理解词组“under fire”的含义和正确分析“for”之后所跟结构成分。词组“under fire”的意思是“受攻击”；“for”用做介词表原因，后跟动词“allow”的现在分词形式；动词“allow”常用搭配形式“allow sb/sth to do sth”，其中“to be filtered through”和“screened by”都是不定式短语成分；“which”引导非限制性定语从句来修饰“Council on Environmental Quality”；“a lawyer”是“James Connaughton”的同位语；“who”引导定语从句来修饰“lawyer”。

　　句子译文：而且她还因为向白宫方面透漏有关美国环保署所做声明，并且让美国环境质量委员会主席进行包庇而受到谴责。这一委员会主席是律师詹姆斯·康诺顿，他以前曾作过石棉工业的代表。

　　题目分析

　　1.答案为C，属推理判断题。从文中“the embattled Christine Todd Whitman is once again in the hot seat”我们可看出受到抨击的惠特曼又一次麻烦缠身；句子“She's also under fire…”中词组“under fire”的意思是“受攻击”。从以上信息我们可作出选择。

　　2.答案为A，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是“Firefighters and other rescue workers suffering health problems continue to blame the EPA for failing to make them aware of the risks.”消防员和其他救援人员本不应该是这起事件的受害者，应该有人对他们的遭遇负责。选项B是受害人员谴责环保署的原因；选项C和选项D是惠特曼所做辩解。

　　3.答案为B，属情感态度题。原文对应信息是“But New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is calling for an investigation, saying she knows how the White House works and that somebody surely leaned on the EPA to lie.”从这句话我们可看出希拉里根本就不相信惠特曼所做辩解，所以她才强烈要求调查此事。

　　4.答案为D，属事实细节题。惠特曼麻烦缠身，面对来自各方的谴责和压力，她似乎都能巧妙地为自己辩解，为自己开脱，好象再大的麻烦也奈何她不得。

　　5.答案为C，属中心思想题。文章主要讲述惠特曼面对怎样的麻烦，而她又是如何为自己辩解和开脱的。

　　参考译文

　　作为美国环保署署长的克里斯蒂娜·托德·惠特曼今年夏天辞职以后，受到抨击的她又一次麻烦缠身。这次是因为她在9·11事件发生之后，对这次事件对纽约居民产生的健康危害问题不予重视。环保署监察长在一篇报道里谈到，惠特曼在检测尚未定论之前就向公众保证空气的安全性。而且她还因为向白宫方面透漏有关美国环保署所做声明，并且让美国环境质量委员会主席进行包庇而受到谴责。这一委员会主席是律师詹姆斯·康诺顿，他以前曾作过石棉工业的代表。

　　长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。但是纽约代表Jerrold Nadler指控当局为了经济进步和发展而刻意隐瞒人体健康方面存在的潜在危险。“很多人因为这个原因可能会早死。” Nadler说。

　　自报道公布之后，在对惠特曼的第一次采访中，她告诉“新闻周刊”记者说她对美国白宫删除美国环保署科学家发出的警告这一做法并不表示反对。“我们并不想使人们感到恐惧。”她解释说人们对石棉读物的反常兴趣很快会恢复到可接受的程度。她认为很多数据都还有待解释，并且白宫方面采用让人较为安心的分析的决定并没有伤害到公众。但是纽约参议员希拉里·克林顿却倡议要求调查，宣称她知道白宫方面的运做程序，并且肯定有人对环保署施加压力使其撒谎。“没人授意我们撒谎。” 惠特曼如是说。

　　那些遭遇健康问题折磨的消防员和其他救援人员继续谴责美国环保署没能使他们意识到存在的危险情况。惠特曼解释说，环保署曾建议让他们穿防护服，戴面罩，但是很多参加现场抢救的人员因为这种装备太笨拙而拒穿。“我们无法强迫他们这样做。” 惠特曼是这样说的。另外，那些返回居住地的居民声称没人告诉他们应该把他们的住所找专业人员进行清理。“可能在某篇新闻稿中我们没有提及，但是后来我们强调了一遍又一遍。” 惠特曼如是说。

　　在9·11事件发生后不久，美国前环境署政府监察官指出，因为惠特曼的丈夫同拥有旅行者人寿保险公司的花旗集团之间的联系，这使得她本身存在公私利益冲突。评论家指出，惠特曼宣布曼哈顿下城地区是安全的这一做法使保险公司免去了上百万美元的清理费。环境署监察长使惠特曼从以权谋私的指责中得以开脱。“这决不可能——请原谅我的措辞，我根本不可能会对这种信息敷衍塞责。”