英语阅读：Whistle-blower 检举人
Q: A leading Republican senator maintains that President Obama is violatinga campaign promise with his claim that he can bypass whistle-blower protections
for executive branch officials who give certain information to Congress.
Could you please explain “whistle-blower”?
This is a term originally from sports. In the games of soccer and
basketball, for example, the whistle-blowers are the referees, who use a whistle
to govern the game, making sure all play by the rules. If a player fouls another
player, for example, the referee “blows the whistle”.
Hence the expression.
Whistle-blower is a term now widely used, not just in sports. In the
example above it refers to people in government watch-dog organizations whose
jobs are to check and oversee the conduct of bureaucrats, making sure they don’t
break any rules. In the event of any misconduct is committed, the
whistle-blowers blow the metaphorical whistle – that is, cry foul, which may
lead to further investigations and bringing the offenders to book.
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