新奇事件簿 烟草公司赔偿230亿美元

A court in the USA has ordered the tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds to pay a woman $23.6 billion in damages. Cynthia Robinson filed a lawsuit¹ against R.J. Reynolds in 2008 and fought for six years for compensation. Her husband Michael died of lung cancer in 1996 after two decades of smoking. He started smoking when he was 13 and died when he was 36. Mrs Robinson argued that the company was negligent² in not informing her husband that nicotine³ is addictive⁴ and that smoking can lead to lung cancer. She said tobacco companies knew in the 1950s that smoking was potentially lethal⁵ and should have been more active in telling people. Johnson's lawyer said: "He couldn't quit. He was smoking the day he died."

美国一法庭判决烟草巨头雷诺兹公司向一名妇女支付高达236亿美元的损害赔偿金。辛西娅.罗宾森在2008年对雷诺兹烟草公司提起诉讼，为了争取赔偿金打了6年的官司。她的丈夫迈克尔在吸烟20年之后在1996年死于肺癌。迈克尔在13岁的时候开始吸烟。在36岁的时候去世。罗宾森女士辩护称，公司并未告知自己的丈夫尼古丁容易上瘾，也没有提醒他吸烟容易导致肺癌。她说，烟草公司在20世纪50年代就知道吸烟有致命危险，所以它们应该更加积极地提醒人们。约翰逊的律师称，他戒不了烟。他在死的那天还在吸烟。

A lawyer for R.J. Reynolds, America's second-largest tobacco company, said the compensation was disproportionate. He said: "The damages awarded in this case are grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law." He added: "This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented." Mrs Robinson's lawyer Chris Chestnut⁶ said jurors looked at R.J. Reynolds' aggressive marketing⁷, particularly campaigns aimed at young people. He said: "[R.J. Reynolds] lied to Congress, they lied to the public, they lied to smokers⁹ and tried to blame the smoker⁸." He added that the jury's decision was "courageous¹⁰".

雷诺兹烟草公司是美国第二大烟草公司，公司一名律师称，赔偿金额太多了。他说，按照国家和宪法法律，这个案件判定的损害赔偿金额太过分了。他还说，这次判决十分不合理，完全不符合所提供的证据。罗宾森女士的律师克里斯.柴斯纳特说，陪审员审视了雷诺兹烟草公司激进的营销策略，主要是针对年轻人。他说，雷诺兹烟草公司欺骗了国会，欺骗了大众，欺骗了所有吸烟者，甚至责怪吸烟者。他还说，陪审团的决定很勇敢。

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

3 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

4 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 smoker   

n.吸烟者，吸烟车厢，吸烟室

参考例句：

• His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
• He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。

9 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

10 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。