VOA标准英语2015--纪录片探讨墨西哥毒品暴力对社会的影响

Documentary Explores Impact of Drug Violence on Mexican Society 纪录片探讨墨西哥毒品暴力对社会的影响

AUSTIN, TEXAS—

Drug-related violence in Mexico has claimed tens of thousands of lives in recent years as rival gangs compete for the millions of dollars they can make smuggling¹ marijuana, cocaine², and other drugs across the U.S. border. 

But the violence and turmoil³ have also taken a toll⁴ on society, especially in northern Mexico where drug cartels are also involved in kidnapping, extortion and other crimes. 

A new documentary film examines the situation through the eyes of three people with different perspectives.

The film Kingdom of Shadows, which premiered at the recent South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, takes a hard look at violence and lawlessness in northern Mexico.  It was directed by Bernardo Ruiz, a dual⁵ U.S.-Mexican citizen.

“In the film we see Sister Consuelo Morales, she is a Catholic nun⁶ and a human rights defender⁷ in the city of Monterey, Mexico, and what she does and continues to do every day, is work with families whose loved ones have disappeared,” he said.

“One of the worst tragedies is to have a loved one disappear," Morales said in the film. "Although we may not know the total truth right now, we are on the path to finding it.”

But Ruiz says human rights activists⁸ like her are up against corruption⁹ and a dysfunctional judicial¹⁰ system in Mexico.

“It is a very small percentage of crimes that are successfully prosecuted¹¹ when you are talking about homicide, you are talking about kidnapping, so the real problem is in the judicial system," he said.  "Whatever is happening is aided and abetted¹² by this culture of impunity¹³.”

U.S. government agent, Oscar Hagelsieb, who has worked undercover in Mexico, provides a different view.  He blames much of the violence on the rise of the Zetas, a former Mexican army unit that turned into a drug trafficking organization.

“In the military you learn that if someone attacks you, takes something from you, you attack them back," he said. "So, definitely the fact that the Zetas came into the drug game spiked¹⁴ up the violence considerably¹⁵.”

The third point of view in the film comes from Texas rancher Don Henry Ford¹⁶, who was involved in drug smuggling a couple of decades ago, when violence was not as widespread.

“I decided¹⁷ to go to Mexico and buy some marijuana and I successfully smuggled¹⁸ my first load. It was terribly amateurish¹⁹, but I got away with it,” he said.

Eventually, he was caught and served time in a U.S. federal prison.  He says the violence in Mexico was far less when larger criminal organizations controlled the border area.

“They had territories assigned and there wasn’t near as much conflict,” Ford said.

Ford credits the film for showing the tragedy of innocent people, who are trapped in a world of violence and crime.

“My wife would be the better judge because she is impartial²⁰ and she was moved by it, moved to tears by it,” he said.

Director Bernardo Ruiz hopes his film will give the people in Mexico's violence-racked communities a voice on the world stage.

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

6 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 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》

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

12 abetted   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• He was abetted in the deception by his wife. 他行骗是受了妻子的怂恿。
• They aided and abetted in getting the police to catch the thief. 他们协助警察抓住了小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

14 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

15 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

16 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

19 amateurish   

n.业余爱好的，不熟练的

参考例句：

• The concert was rather an amateurish affair.这场音乐会颇有些外行客串的味道。
• The paintings looked amateurish.这些画作看起来只具备业余水准。

20 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。