VOA慢速英语2014 减少警察和黑人青年之间的冲突

 

AS IT IS 2014-09-22 Reducing Clashes between Police and Black Youths 减少警察和黑人青年之间的冲突

Many people have heard about the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in the United States. A white police officer shot and killed the young man last month in Ferguson, Missouri. His death fueled days of unrest and racial tension in the city, just outside Saint Louis. 

The incident demonstrated the racial anger between police and Ferguson’s African American community.  Now, some African-American parents and social workers are talking to young people about how to act when stopped by police. 

African-Americans in Ferguson have long objected about racial bias¹, or favoritism, in policing. They say police officers abuse their power by unfairly targeting them for stops and searches. Many families worry that their children will have a bad experience with police.

“I just tell the youngsters to be careful, man, and if the police say ‘come’ to you all and say something to you, do what they say!”

Tensions have increased between the mostly black community and police after the shooting death of Michael Brown. Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, shot the unarmed teenager on August ninth. 

Social worker Ivy² Hylton says more needs to be done to stop deadly clashes between Ferguson’s police and blacks.

“They are just starting to shoot and kill and it is alarming. It is very alarming. I think that it is a new shift in how we (black people) are being seen and how we are being treated. And we better pay attention so we can get that shift back and bring some order and some harmony back.”

In 2011, the U.S. Justice Department reported that police stopped and arrested black drivers nationwide almost two times as often as white drivers. The report suggested that black drivers were nearly three times as likely as white drivers to be searched. And, black drivers were almost three times more likely to be arrested than white drivers for minor³, nonviolent offenses⁴.

Rudy Davis is a Washington D.C. radio personality. He serves as a mentor⁵ – a guide and friend – to young African-Americans. He says they rarely think about what can happen when they are stopped by police.

“We don’t know that just saying ‘yes’ or just stopping in our actions, whatever it is that we are doing, just stopping could help you.”

Some African-American parents are talking with their children about how to prevent conflicts with police. Ivy Hylton has some suggestions.

“I talk with young people all the time about what we call ‘street law’ – being able to understand your rights, being able to know exactly what to do if a police officer comes to you.”

Edward Tate offers advice to young people. He believes education is of great importance to changing their behavior with police.

“We have to re-educate our people into the true knowledge of themselves as it relates to their essence, their culture, their background, so that may instill a sense of pride, the positive pride and a sense of dignity to the point where it will allow us to regulate our behavior as self-respecting people.”

The police chief of Ferguson says his force will work to win back the trust of the community.

But civil rights activists⁶ predict there will be more demonstrations⁷ in Ferguson and in other places. They say this will happen because people are frustrated⁸ with what they believe is more police oppression of African Americans.    

1 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

2 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》