VOA慢速英语2011--Sex Abuse Case Shakes Penn State Football; 72-Game NBA Season?

IN THE NEWS - Sex Abuse Case Shakes Penn State Football; 72-Game NBA Season?

 

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, the coach with the most wins ever in major college football in the United States lost his job. The governing board of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, dismissed eighty-four-year-old Joe Paterno. The Board of Trustees fired him after police arrested one of his former assistants last week. Jerry Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing at least eight young boys over a period of more than ten years.

One of those incidents reportedly happened at Penn State in two thousand two. A graduate student assistant said he witnessed Mr. Sandusky assaulting a ten-year-old boy.

He informed Mr. Paterno, who told informed school officials. But Mr. Paterno has been criticized for not informing others when no action was taken against Mr. Sandusky. He retired¹ from Penn State in nineteen ninety-nine, and has denied the charges.

Mr. Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation². But the two Penn State officials he informed have been charged with failing to report the incident to law enforcement officials.

Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno at a game on October 15

On Wednesday Mr. Paterno released a statement saying he wished he had done more. He said he would retire at the end of this season after forty-six years as head coach. But later in the day the trustees voted to fire him. Vice³ chairman John Surma announced the decision.

JOHN SURMA: "Joe Paterno is no longer the head football coach, effective immediately."

Mr. Surma also announced the dismissal of Penn State's president. Graham Spanier led Penn State, a public research university, for sixteen years.

There was violence Wednesday night as some students went into the streets near campus to show their support for Mr. Paterno.

Mr. Paterno spoke⁴ to students who gathered in front of his house after his firing.

JOE PATERNO: ''One thing, thanks and pray a little bit for those victims.''

The Education Department says it is investigating whether Penn State failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law.

Mr. Paterno, known as "Joe Pa," turned a rural college into a national sports leader. His so-called Grand Experiment aimed to show that college players could be both good athletes and good students. He had four hundred nine victories. He guided Penn State to five undefeated seasons and two national championships.

The team is ranked twelfth in the nation. They play their last home game of the season on Saturday against nineteenth-ranked Nebraska.

In other sports news, team owners and the players union in the National Basketball Association completed their latest negotiations⁵ on Thursday. Those efforts ended with a proposal for the players to vote on. It would allow for a seventy-two game season beginning December fifteenth.

Derek Fisher is the union president.

DEREK FISHER: "On the main six or seven issues, I'm not sure that we can say on any one of them, the NBA came all the way to what we like them to come to. All I can say is that on a couple of the issues, there was some revision, there was some change in their position from the last proposal that we saw."

NBA Commissioner⁶ David Stern said the owners would await the decision from the players union next week.

DAVID STERN: "There comes a time when you have to be through negotiating and we are.''

The season was supposed to have started November first. The dispute centers on basketball-related income. Owners want fifty percent of the revenue while players want 52.5 percent.

Owners say the NBA lost three hundred million dollars last year. They say just eight of the thirty teams earned a profit.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Christopher Cruise.
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Contributing: Richard Green

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 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。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。