VOA标准英语2012--Florida Man Accused of Killing Unarmed Teenager Released from Jail

Florida Man Accused of Killing¹ Unarmed Teenager Released from Jail

George Zimmerman appeared in court not only to seek his release as he awaits trail - he used the opportunity to apologize to the dead boy's parents who attended the proceedings².

"I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said. "I did not know how old he was, but I thought he was a little bit younger than I was, and I did not know if he was armed or not."

The fact that Trayvon Martin was not armed, and that Zimmerman was, is partly why the case has attracted so much attention. Florida has what's called a Stand Your Ground law that allows people to use deadly force if they feel their lives are in danger. 

Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense³ after Martin attacked him. Zimmerman's father testified by telephone about how his son looked after the confrontation⁴.

"His face was swollen⁵ quite a bit," said Robert Zimmerman. "He had a protective cover over his nose, his lip was swollen and cut."

Prosecutors⁷ portray⁸ Zimmerman as the aggressor who confronted Martin as he walked back to his father's home from a nearby convenience store. Prosecutors contend that Zimmerman has a history of violence.

Zimmerman's wife Shellie contradicted that in her testimony⁹ by phone.

Prosecutor⁶: "You would tell the court that he is not a violent person?"

Shellie Zimmerman: "Absolutely, he is not a violent person or a threat to the community."

Also hanging over this case is the controversial subject of racial profiling. Martin's family and supporters argue that Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, neighborhood watch volunteer, stopped Martin because he was black. 

That has led to numerous protests across the country. Part of this outcry came after police initially¹⁰ allowed Zimmerman to go free. And the volatility¹¹ of the case was on the mind of Zimmerman's attorney after the hearing.

"It is an enormously high profile case and there is a lot of anger - or let's say a lot of high emotions - that exist," said defense attorney Mark O'Mara. "I don't want that to spill over on to the family or my client's safety." 

The hearing ended with the court setting conditions for Zimmerman's release.

"I am going to grant the motion and set bond in the amount of $150,000 with the following conditions - electronic monitoring GPS," said Florida judge Kenneth Lester.

The judge also ruled that Zimmerman must check in with authorities every three days. He is scheduled to return to court in May to be formally charged.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

5 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

6 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。

7 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

8 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

9 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。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。