美国国家公共电台 NPR--Californians are reeling from 2 mass shootings that left at least 18 people dead

Californians are reeling from 2 mass shootings that left at least 18 people dead

Transcript¹

Monterey Park residents held a vigil Tuesday night to remember victims of a weekend shooting, while residents of Half Moon Bay struggled with their own horrendous² loss from gun violence.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Californians had just started to recover and dry out from wave upon wave of devastating³ rainstorms when mass killings⁵ north and south riveted⁶ and scared California residents. Two shootings by what police say was a single gunman took seven lives in Half Moon Bay. Less than 48 hours earlier, 11 people were killed in Monterey Park. That's where a vigil last night remembered the dead, as NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE⁷: Several hundred people turned out last night on the lawn in front of Monterey Park City Hall to remember those 11 killed, all of them older Asians. They were out celebrating a Lunar New Year's Eve Saturday night, dancing happy at the Star Dance Studio when a gunman opened fire. The air at the vigil smelled of scented⁸ candles people carried from home as city leaders tried to offer words of comfort.

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JOSE SANCHEZ: We are gathered here to honor the 11 beautiful souls who were taken from us.

WESTERVELT: But people didn't turn out for speeches. They came out for each other. Emotions were raw. Tears flowed as community members and friends of the dead gathered. Some who survived the shooting were there, too.

DANIEL HSIU: Beginning to end, I saw the whole thing, whole thing. Yeah.

WESTERVELT: Daniel Hsiu was at the dance studio. They had just started a line dance when gunfire broke out. Hsiu hid on the floor. He saw five of his friends killed. He's struggling to process it all, still reeling. Memories of people running and hiding, he says, keep coming back.

D HSIU: People crying. I also see the blood flowing from the body, the shoulder, falling on the ground. This much. Yeah.

WESTERVELT: His son, Michael Hsiu, came with him to the vigil. His dad had called him panicked while fleeing the shooting.

MICHAEL HSIU: I was in disbelief. And I couldn't believe what I heard. And in my mind, I was thinking, like, it was such a close call that it could have been him.

WESTERVELT: Michael Hsiu says the deadly shooting spree at two farms in Half Moon Bay less than 48 hours later is making it even harder for both he and his father to comprehend this week's violence. Governor Gavin Newsom had been meeting with survivors⁹ and community members in Monterey Park Monday when he got word of that other attack. Newsom traveled to Half Moon Bay Tuesday.

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GAVIN NEWSOM: Only in America do we see this kind of carnage, this kind of destruction of communities and lives and confidence.

WESTERVELT: Gunman Chunli Zhao shot five people at Mountain Mushroom Farm, where he worked, killing⁴ four and then drove to a nearby farm where he once worked and fatally shot three more. The victims were Asian and Hispanic, and some were migrant farm workers. Newsom called out Republicans in Washington for staying mostly silent on the shootings and for obstructing¹⁰ gun control legislation. But he seemed to have more questions than answers to go with his horror and frustration¹¹.

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NEWSOM: I got no ideological¹² opposition¹³ to someone owning a gun responsibly. But what the hell is wrong with us that we allow these weapons of war, large capacity clips out on the streets and sidewalks? Why have we allowed this culture, this pattern, to continue?

WESTERVELT: Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay were not the only recent deadly shootings in the state. Just over a week ago, a gunman shot and killed six in the central California farming community of Goshen. Those murdered included a 16-year-old mother holding her 10-month-old baby son. They were shot in the forehead, execution style. Those killings remain unsolved.

Eric Westervelt, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 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。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

7 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。

8 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

11 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

12 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。