CNN 2010-03-30

Drug- related violence has gotten so bad that the Mexican border town of Juarez is now one of the most dangerous places in the world to live and die.CNN's Gary Tuchman gives us a blood-curdling first-person account of the incredible violence there. And I've got to warn you, this story is not for the squeamish.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This man has just watched gunmen ambush¹ his brother and murder him. In one of the most frightening cities in the world, Juarez, Mexico, a place where 16 young people can get killed at a party by narco traffickers, who apparently² made a mistake, targeting the wrong house and few are stunned³ by it.

Drug cartels are at war in this city of 1.5 million; law-abiding citizens be damned.

This past weekend, we went to the funeral of an American woman who worked at the U.S. consulate⁴ in Juarez. She was shot and killed, along with her American husband and unborn child. It happened right in front of the Juarez mayor's office, a stone's throw away from El Paso, Texas.

Over the next few hours we saw firsthand what has led to Juarez having the highest murder rate in the world.

(on camera): There's no such thing as a quiet weekend day here in Ciudad Juarez. About one hour ago, police got a call that in this murky⁵ river there was a body. When they got to the scene, they indeed found the body with a bullet hole right in the forehead. Behind me, members of the military with guns, police; these guys will probably be at another murder later today.

(voice-over): We didn't realize how quickly we'd see them again.

(on camera): Only ten minutes after we left that river, a five- minute drive away, this was the scene. Two men in that gold pick-up, six gunmen came up to them. The driver ran out, was shot and now he is under that tarp.

(voice-over): Why was he targeted? We may never know. This is the brother of the victim who was also in the pickup⁶. The gunmen left him unharmed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were just going to the tire shop to pick up a tire and nothing more.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Thirty minutes later, another execution- style killing⁷. A worker in an electrical store shot multiple times at close range. Neighbors are afraid to talk about what they know and fear the murderers will come after them.

I asked this man if he heard anything.

 

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

5 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

6 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。