VOA标准英语2012--Documentary Examines The Ordeal of Bullied Children

 Documentary Examines The Ordeal¹ of Bullied² Children

Tyler Long was a happy little boy. But at 17, he committed suicide because he was bullied at school, says his father David Long. "We had heard that he had his head shoved into a wall locker³. So kids had told him to go hang himself. That he is worthless. And I think he got to the point where enough was enough," he said. 

Tyler's story is one of five family accounts director Lee Hirsch presents in Bully⁴, a harrowing documentary about bullying⁵ in schools.

"It happens in urban schools, it happens in rural schools. I don't believe that the problems the families in this film experience are unique to small town America," he said. 

From the Long family in Georgia, the film takes us to Alex Libby and his family in Iowa. For years, Alex endured abuse at the hands of his schoolmates. "They'd punch me, strangle me, sit on me," he said. 

The film follows Alex's mom as she confronts the school principal who seems to be in denial. 

But Lee Hirsch managed to capture the abuse on camera. "We weren't a big production, there's no lights, there was no sound person, there was just me with a tiny Canon, what looked like a consumer camera. So, I think that they acted as they normally did, and that was, to feel that it was okay to pick on Alex," he said. 

Bully is an emotional rollercoaster that takes us next to Oklahoma and to Kelby, a lesbian. "When I opened my locker there was a note that said '[gay people] are not welcomed here.' Then the teacher was calling roll and said boys, and then he said girls, and then paused and said Kelby," she said. 

The film's power lies in the heartbreaking testimony⁶ of these socially isolated⁷ kids and their parents. Some of them have lost their kids forever. The movie aims at educating and mobilizing people against bullying. 

The Motion Picture Association refused to give Bully a PG 13 rating so teens could watch it. The reason was explicit⁸ language used by bullies⁹ against their victims and captured on film. 

About half a million people opposed the ruling by signing an online petition drafted by Katy Butler. Butler, a bullied teen from Michigan, wrote the petition after watching the film. "I want to make sure that every school in the United States and hopefully beyond that knows how important this movie is and ends up showing it in schools so the kids can actually see it," she said. 

Her efforts paid off. At the last minute, the MPAA granted the film a PG 13 rating. Bully is expected to be a box office hit when it opens nationwide on April 13.

1 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

2 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

4 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

5 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

9 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。