美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden visits Uvalde seeking to comfort the community after last week's shooting

Biden visits Uvalde seeking to comfort the community after last week's shooting

Transcript¹

While President Biden honored the 19 children and two teachers killed in the massacre² at Robb Elementary School, residents want to know why the police were slow to respond to the shooting.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Justice Department is carrying out an independent investigation³ of the police response to last week's shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. President Biden visited the area yesterday to pay respects and console families. The city is grieving the loss of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. NPR's Pien Huang is in Uvalde and joins me now.

Pien, let's start with the DOJ investigation. Why is the DOJ taking this up right now?

PIEN HUANG, BYLINE⁴: There's a lot of anger from the community, a lot of questions over how law enforcement responded to the shooting. At first, Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised a quick response for saving children's lives. Then the Texas Department of Public Safety said their investigation showed that 19 policemen had stood in the hallway outside the classroom for the better part of an hour instead of going in. They called it a bad decision. Rumors⁵ are now swirling⁶ around town on how it played out. And local residents say it's important for the families to know what happened.

So yesterday, the Justice Department said that they're launching their own independent probe into the law enforcement response - comes at the request of the mayor of Uvalde. And he's been asked to hold law enforcement accountable. DOJ says that their goals here are to explain what happened and how law enforcement can avoid these mistakes in the next active-shooter situation. There's no clear timeframe for the investigation, but they have pledged to make the results public.

MARTIN: President Biden was in Uvalde yesterday. What did he see? Who did he hear from?

HUANG: Yes. The president and the first lady spent a full day here yesterday. They placed white flowers at the memorial site at Robb Elementary School, where white crosses carry the names of the dead. At one point, the president wiped away a tear. The Bidens also attended Sunday morning mass with 600 parishioners at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with the archbishop presiding. And those that were there told us he was just there to pray. Outside the church, a small crowd had gathered in the 93-degree heat.

Linda Casas had driven in from San Antonio, and she, like the Bidens, wanted to come to Uvalde to pay her respects.

LINDA CASAS: I'm not a parent. I have nieces and nephews - 10, 5, 6. And I don't know. It just hit me. For some reason, I said - I woke up this morning, and I said, you know what? I got to go.

MARTIN: So how was the president received in this complicated moment?

HUANG: Well, as Biden exited the church, an onlooker⁷ shouted, do something, and Biden said, we will. The Bidens also did take time to meet with survivors⁸ and family members. Those meetings were private. Some people in the community that we spoke⁹ with were grateful that the president came to visit and show solidarity¹⁰, support. And those that didn't care for the president mostly just stayed away.

MARTIN: Meanwhile, this community is getting ready to do very grim work to hold the funeral services for the victims. What have you observed about that process, Pien?

HUANG: It's been a big focus here in the community. And a lot of help and a lot of donations have been pouring in. Jimmy Lucas, the director of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, says that they've sent caskets, embalmers, hearses. They're doing anything they can to support the city's two funeral homes, which are just not equipped to handle this many deaths all at the same time.

Next to one of those funeral homes, the florist¹¹ is working nonstop, making wreaths and arrangements. Kelly Baker¹² is owner of The Flower Patch.

KELLY BAKER: Some days are harder than others, especially when you're sitting with families that you've grown up with. It's so hard because they're coming to you to do something very personal for them.

HUANG: The other day, she sat with a high-school classmate who lost a child in the shooting.

BAKER: Their baby's favorite was sunflowers. As we start making these arrangements, we're just going to make sure and save sunflowers for this baby so that, you know, her family gets just a tiny bit of what she wanted - or what she would have wanted - for her service.

HUANG: Services for the victims start today with visitation for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza. She celebrated¹³ her birthday earlier this month, and her family says that she was a happy, creative kid who made honor roll, liked to draw and paint. Over the next 2 1/2 weeks, the community will put 18 more children and two more teachers to rest.

MARTIN: NPR's Pien Huang, thank you.

HUANG: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

7 onlooker   

n.旁观者，观众

参考例句：

• A handful of onlookers stand in the field watching.少数几个旁观者站在现场观看。
• One onlooker had to be restrained by police.一个旁观者遭到了警察的制止。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

11 florist   

n.花商；种花者

参考例句：

• The florist bunched the flowers up.花匠把花捆成花束。
• Could you stop at that florist shop over there?劳驾在那边花店停一下好不好？

12 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。