VOA慢速英语 2007 0922

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
Protesters in Jena, Louisiana
Thousands of protesters from around the United States marched this week in the small town of Jena, Louisiana. They came in support of six black teenagers arrested for the beating of a white student at Jena High School in December. This followed racial incidents at the school that led to fights between whites and blacks.

No white students faced charges. But five of the so-called Jena Six were charged at first with attempted murder. Since then, many of the charges have been reduced. The case remains¹ in court.

This case, with its questions of fairness, comes after another case in the South that produced a strong emotional reaction. The case of three white students falsely accused of raping² a black woman is the subject of a book published this month.

The book is called "Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful³ Injustices⁴ of the Duke Lacrosse Rape⁵ Case." The authors, Stuart Taylor and K. C. Johnson, examine what they see as failings by the legal system and the media.

In March of last year, Crystal Mangum told police that several Duke University lacrosse players raped⁶ her. She and another woman had been hired to dance and take off their clothes at a team party.

The case in Durham, North Carolina, gained attention not just because of the accusations⁷. It also involved issues of race and economic class.

Three lacrosse players were arrested: David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. In the American legal system, suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty. But the local prosecutor⁹, Mike Nifong, called the players "hooligans" and seemed to leave no question about their guilt⁸. He spoke¹⁰ often to the media.

A number of Duke professors and students were also quick to publicly judge them. Duke cancelled the rest of the men's lacrosse season and the team coach resigned.

Yet Crystal Mangum changed her story several times and evidence conflicted with her 
Mike Nifong
claims. Also, she was reported to have struggled with mental health problems.

Critics say Mike Nifong used the case against the players from a costly¹¹, top university as a way to appeal to black voters. The white prosecutor was campaigning for a new term as district attorney.

But in January he withdrew from the case. A state agency later found that he lied to a court and violated other rules of professional behavior in the case. He lost his right to practice law and spent a day in jail earlier this month.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declared the three players innocent in April. He also said it would be in the best interest of justice not to bring charges against their accuser.

The young men have threatened to bring a civil rights case against the city of Durham for their treatment by police. They reportedly are seeking ten million dollars each in a settlement that would also call for legal reforms.

On Wednesday, Duke announced it will invest more than one million dollars to create a new law center. The purpose: to train lawyers to fight wrongful charges.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

3 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

4 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 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。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。