密歇根新闻广播 不到300人的小镇有110名后备警察

You might have seen reports about a small town, fewer than 300 people, with a force of 110 reserve police officers. How and why is this happening in Oakley, Michigan?

Oakley, Michigan, according to reporter Ryan Felton from Metro¹ Times, is "a textbook definition of a small town."

In the past, the village has had one part-time police chief. Now that the Village of Oakley has hired Rob Reznick, however, it's begun a reserve police force as a way to raise money.

"Basically you have a guy who saw an opportunity to fund his department by allowing people to apply as a reserve officer," Felton said. "If they paid for their uniform, badge, and firearm, and passed a number of tests, they would be able to work as a volunteer cop, and that usually rounded out to about $1300 to cover the total cost as it was explained to me."

And tens of thousands of dollars' worth of donations from reserve officers have poured into the city.

The people on the reserve police force of Oakley, Michigan, do not need to actually live in Oakley. They can live anywhere. In fact, 98% of people who have applied² to be a reserve officer are from Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.

"It runs the gamut³ of wealthy professions," Felton said. "Everyone from doctors, attorneys, you have a former Detroit Lions football player who now plays for the Miami Dolphins. I mean it's an astounding⁴, remarkable⁵ cadre of officers that he's collected for his volunteer force."

Once accepted, these reserve officers have police powers while in the presence of one of Oakley's certified⁶ officers, as well as a special gun permit.

Oakley residents are "split right down the middle" on this issue, Felton said.

"The dynamic in the room during some of these meetings was just one of the most fascinating experiences to watch because it was just like watching this ugly family feud⁷ just play out wide in the open, because you're not talking about people who are unfamiliar⁸ with each other," he said.

"On one side of the room you have people who are very happy that Rob Reznick has brought in such a significant amount of money," Felton said, adding that donations from the volunteers have brought in as much as the town spends in a year on general fund expenditures⁹.

"But, on the opposite end, you have people who feel like this has just created this sort of 'pay to play' atmosphere and Resnick is able to just do as he pleases," he said.

1 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

4 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

8 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

9 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》