2013芝加哥犯罪率有所下降

 　　2013芝加哥犯罪率有所下降

　　RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

　　DAVID GREENE, HOST: And I'm David Greene.

　　Let's think about some of the headlines in Chicago in the year 2013. Many of them dealt with murders that claimed the lives of innocent people. We're going to hear about the grief some people in the city are dealing¹ with. It's truly unimaginable. And yet, Chicago's overall crime rate actually dropped during the year to its lowest level in decades, certainly a positive sign.

　　But as NPR's Cheryl Corley reports, people living in the city's poorest neighborhoods say violent crime has become a part of daily life.

　　CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE²: In 2013, Chicago newspapers and television stations kept a daily deadly count, listing those slain³ each day, most by gun violence. One of the most noted⁴ occurred early in the year, when 15-year-old student Hadiya Pendleton - who had performed with her high school band at Inauguration⁵ events in Washington D.C. - was shot and killed about a week later. Two young men were charged with opening fire on Pendleton and a group of friends standing⁶ in a park about a mile from President Obama's Chicago home. After the shooting, her father, Nathaniel Pendleton, grieved before throngs⁷ of reporters at a news conference.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CONFERENCE)

　　NATHANIEL PENDLETON: They took the light of my life. This guy, the gunman, man, you took the light of my life.

　　CORLEY: And the city's gun violence has deeply touched the life of Shirley Chambers⁸. Over a nearly 20-year span, she lost all four of her children to shootings. The last one, her 33-year-old son Ronnie Chambers, who had said the murders of his three siblings⁹ made him decide to change his life. He was killed this year.

　　SHIRLEY CHAMBERS: It's too much out of control now. They've got to get stiffer penalties for these guys that go out here and murder people for no reason.

　　CORLEY: And a shooting in a Chicago park in September left more than a dozen people wounded, including a three-year-old boy. Chicago Police Superintendent¹⁰ Garry McCarthy said in that shooting, assault-style weapons were used.

　　GARRY MCCARTHY: Illegal guns. Illegal guns. Illegal guns drive violence. And military-type weapons, like the one we believe to have been used in this shooting, belong on a battlefield, not on a street or in a corner or in a park.

　　CORLEY: In 2013, at least 412 Chicagoans lost their lives violently - about 100 fewer than a year ago. That's more than those murdered in New York, and more than Los Angeles. A Yale University analysis says despite Chicago's grim numbers, the city's crime rate is not exceptional when compared to other large cities. It ranks Chicago 19th with violent crime levels similar to those of Houston or Minneapolis, and half that of Detroit or St. Louis.

　　The study, which looks at Chicago's crime levels over nearly 50 years, says the city is on track to have the lowest crime rate since 1972, and a murder rate the lowest in 45 years. Superintendent McCarthy says it's not victory, but it is real progress.

　　MCCARTHY: We're putting additional officers in high-crime areas through Operation Impact. We're using intelligence to prevent retaliatory¹¹ gang shootings. We're moving officers from administrative¹² positions back into the streets. And we're partnering closely with the community.

　　CORLEY: In a city of neighborhoods, though, crime rates are not equal, and many of the shootings here are gang-related in the city's South and West Sides.

　　REVEREND AL SHARPTON: They say that the shooting is down. Well, if one person is shot, it's one too many.

　　CORLEY: Community activists¹³ and ministers recently attended a public hearing convened¹⁴ by the Reverend Al Sharpton. Many like Lucy Moore don't believe the rate of gun violence in Chicago is actually down.

　　LUCY MOORE: I think it's poppycock. They're not telling all of it. The murder rate is even higher. They just want to save face, and that's what I feel. It's not down. I see too much shooting and too much killing¹⁵.

　　CORLEY: Natjuan Herrin lives on Chicago's West Side, and is also skeptical¹⁶.

　　NATJUAN HERRIN: Well, where I come from, they shoot every day, all day, but it's not safe nowhere in Chicago. Wherever you go, it's not safe.

　　CORLEY: While Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he understands that skepticism, the numbers don't lie.

　　MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL: We're not going to rest until people feel the reality of these numbers. It is day-in and day-out work, and I'm not going to let anybody working for me rest until that feeling is shared throughout the city.

　　CORLEY: Emanuel has pushed for thousands of summer youth jobs, more education initiatives and recreational opportunities, which he says has resulted in less gun violence. He's calling for tougher gun laws, including mandatory¹⁷ minimum sentencing for anyone possessing an illegal gun. That effort comes as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁸ has announced changes that would relax mandatory sentencing requirements, at least when it comes to drug policy. But Holder says the federal government will help Chicago as best it can.

　　ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER: Justice Department will seek new ways to ensure that resources provided to the Chicago Police Department by our Asset Forfeiture¹⁹ Fund can be better used to keep more officers on the beat.

　　CORLEY: The attorney general was in Chicago for the swearing-in ceremony for Zachary Fardon, the U.S. attorney for northern Illinois. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Fardon successfully prosecuted²⁰ former Illinois Governor George Ryan on public corruption²¹ charges. Fardon says he doesn't believe the city can arrest its way out of its gang problem.

　　ZACH FARDON: It is too big. It is too deep. It is too insidious²². It starts at too young an age.

　　CORLEY: Fardon says even though his office will continue to focus on public corruption, white collar crime and terrorism, it will also work on violent crime.

　　FARDON: We're all in. We'll be aggressive and strategic in going after the worst of the worst. We do have limited resources, and so we have to focus on the gang leaders, and we have to focus on the violent offenders²³. And we will do that, and we'll do it with vigor²⁴.

　　CORLEY: It's an attitude that the mayor here and even his critics say everyone must have. Just ask Chicago mother Shirley Chambers, who lost all four of her children to gun violence. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

8 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

9 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

10 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

11 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 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》

14 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

15 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。

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

17 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

18 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

19 forfeiture   

n.（名誉等）丧失

参考例句：

• Both face maximum forfeitures of about $1.2 million.双方都面临最高120万美元左右的罚金。
• If he should break his day,what should I gain by the exaction of the forfeiture?如果他到期不还我从这罚金中又能得到什么好处？

20 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》。

21 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。

22 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

23 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

24 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。